Medical Malpractice

The internet has revolutionized life as we know it. With a click of the mouse, you can bring up the local news of the day, listen to the latest music, read a new book, or do hundreds of other activities. Many also turn to the internet as a primary way to shop for everything from games to clothes to food and even to prescription medications. The use ... Read More

The first article in this series discussed drug errors that can occur when two medications have similar names. Whether the names sound close to one another or have similar spellings, this kind of medicine mix-up can have deadly results. This confusion is not limited to medicines that have similar names. It can also happen when a doctor, hospital em ... Read More

There are many reasons why a doctor may need to change a drug’s dosage. If a patient’s still suffers symptoms, a dosage increase may be warranted. Changes in a patient’s general health may also require an adjustment to prevent a patient from taking too much medicine. MSN Health reports a common and serious doctor medicine mistake ... Read More

There are many reasons why a medication might be considered an unsafe medicine for a particular patient. In addition to concerns about drug allergies, some medications are contraindicated for certain conditions. This means if you have a specific ailment taking that drug may cause additional problems, so it is advised that that drug not be used in t ... Read More

The most common medication errors in hospitals are insulin errors. Nursing Times reports a study in England’s hospitals revealed 37 percent of diabetic patients were given the wrong dose of insulin during their hospitalizations. This study was prompted when the mother of an eleven year-old diabetic patient questioned the amount of insulin a n ... Read More

Between 6 and 10 percent of the 1.5 million people who become ill each year due to medicine mistakes suffer from a drug allergy. This can happen because a new allergy has developed or potentially because a doctor failed to identify a drug allergy. A drug allergy is a group of symptoms caused by the immune system’s hypersensitivity to a medica ... Read More

The Leapfrog Group is a national non-profit organization founded by leading private healthcare experts and the nation’s top employers. The organization seeks to save lives “by reducing injuries, accidents and preventable medical mistakes and medication errors.” In order to cut down the number of hospital mistakes, the Leapfrog Group conducts ... Read More

The number of people who are made sick each year by medication errors is staggering. There is no mandatory reporting system in place for incidents when a doctor prescribed the wrong drug or a pharmacist gave the wrong medication. Many practitioners do not report these events as they fear retribution. But last year over 1.5 million people got sick a ... Read More

It is difficult to track medication mistakes since they are often not reported or on record unless someone is seriously injured by the error. Each year, over one and a half million people become seriously ill after taking the wrong medication. Another 100,000 die due to medicine mistakes. According to MSN Health, the third most common drug error in ... Read More

There is a great debate over how to handle medical malpractice cases. There are also many arguments and points of view. Despite evidence to the contrary, some believe tort reform and monetary damage caps will reduce the number of “frivolous” lawsuits, thereby lowering health care costs and streamlining the process. In some states like Texas, tort r ... Read More

Medication errors are preventable, but happen far too often. Over 1.5 million people suffer from the effects of a medication mistake each year. Ten medicine mistakes happen more often than others and are the most likely to cause drug related injuries or illnesses. The second drug error on MSN Health‘s list is taking multiple drugs that magnif ... Read More

Modern technology has streamlined many aspects of life and medicine is no exception. Advances in both knowledge and equipment have improved length and quality of life. Other technological improvements have simply made medicine easier. The Carpuject Syringe System is one invention that is meant to improve safety and efficiency. It includes pre-measu ... Read More

Medication mistakes are more common than most people realize. While some who are given the wrong medicine do not suffer severe complications, over 1.5 million Americans get sick from taking the wrong drug and 100,000 die due to drug errors. MSN Health complied a list of the ten most common drug mistakes. Over the next few weeks I will go over each ... Read More

For many Americans, one of the worst parts of puberty is acne. Some can control it with over the counter medications and good hygiene. But millions turn to prescription medications like Accutane or Roaccutane to treat their blemishes. While it is common knowledge that many acne treatments will bleach wash cloths and dry out skin, a new study from T ... Read More

In 2007, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report indicating at least 1.5 million people each year are the victims of some kind of medication error. According to CNN, a separate study from 2006 showed at least one hospital medicine error per patient, per day. These troubling statistics prompted many patient care advocates to publish sugges ... Read More