Category: Medication Errors

Medications play a critical role in modern healthcare, helping patients manage chronic conditions, treat infections, and recover from serious illness. However, when medications are prescribed, dispensed, or administered incorrectly, the consequences can be severe. Medication errors are among the most common types of preventable medical mistakes. These errors may occur at several points in the […]
Medication Errors + Medications and Overdose

Medication errors in pharmacies can come in many forms, ranging from incorrect dosages to dispensing the wrong drug entirely. These mistakes can lead to severe health complications and, in some cases, may constitute medical malpractice. A critical factor in determining liability is whether the error constitutes a deviation from the standard of care expected in […]
Medication Errors

A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that teaching hospitals experience an exponential rise in medication errors every July like clockwork – which just happens to coincide with the arrival of new residents and the departure of many of the seasoned staff members. You may want to ask “is July a […]
Medication Errors + Patient Safety

Medication errors account for a good percentage of medical malpractice cases and the fact of the matter is that they are far too common. Whether a doctor fails to identify potentially harmful drug interactions or a patient is given the wrong drug or dosage, error-prone terms can lead to medication errors and people can suffer […]
Medication Errors

Medication errors are caused by many things. With so many factors it can seem like a daunting task to avoid them.  The FDA has indicated that drugs with very similar names, drugs with similar packaging, and sometimes even a physician’s bad handwriting all contribute to medication errors. In the emergency room getting the right drug, in […]
Medication Errors

At some point, most Illinois residents have likely been prescribed an antibiotic to treat a bacterial infection. Antibiotics are readily prescribed to treat infections such as strep throat and ear infections. Additionally, doctors are often quick to administer antibiotics to patients suspected of suffering some sort of bacterial infection when the source of such an […]
Medication Errors

The rate of cited drug errors in Illinois nursing homes is lower than the national average, according to the director of the state’s public health department. The news sounds comforting for Cook County residents with loved ones in long-term care facilities, but the medication error citation rate is still 9 percent. That excludes mistakes that […]
Medication Errors

Illinois residents who have ever been sick or hospitalized know the benefits of both over-the-counter and prescription medications. When administered correctly, these medications can be extremely beneficial and life-saving. There are cases, however, were errors related to the type of or dosage of medication can occur that adversely impact an individual’s health and wellbeing. The […]
Medication Errors + Settlements

When hospitalized, patients are routinely given a variety of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to control pain and aid in their recovery. In cases where a patient is in pain, nurses typically ask a patient to describe their level of pain on a scale of 1 to 10 and the appropriate medications are administered. Prior to […]
Medication Errors + Settlements

Individuals who undergo medical procedures or surgeries must also often take some sort of prescription medication. These medications may be to prevent infections or some other adverse side effect of the procedure. If the dosage of these medications is incorrect or the wrong medication is administered, the effects can be devastating and result in a […]
Medication Errors

For any individual, dealing with a serious medical condition or illness can be both physically and emotionally draining. When a child is ill, however, the impact on an entire family is often magnified. Parents who have children that require hospitalization often rely heavily upon the hospital’s doctors and nurses for support, guidance and medical expertise. […]
Medication Errors

Hospital patients who have been given an incorrect medication dosage or a wrong drug can die. Since many Chicago patients are admitted to hospitals with serious health conditions, hospital staff members may mistake a medication error for a symptom of illness. University of Illinois researchers believe they have come up with a detection system to […]
Medication Errors

Technological advances within the medical community are credited with vastly improving the qualify of America’s healthcare system. Today, robots aide doctors in performing numerous surgical procedures and a variety of medical devices have improved both the quality and longevity of patients’ lives. While there is no doubt these types of technological advances have many benefits, […]
Medication Errors

The invention and development of antibiotics was one of the most important medical advances of the 20th Century. These drugs have saved countless lives from bacterial infections. But in recent years, a new class of bacteria has arisen that common antibiotics like penicillin and streptomycin cannot defeat. These so-called “superbugs” are more than an annoyance. […]
Medication Errors

The world is always changing; and in the past 20 years, this has meant an immense surge forward in our technological capabilities. One of the areas in which technology has had the biggest impact is in the medical industry. People are able to live longer, healthier lives nowadays thanks to vast improvements to medical machinery, […]
Medication Errors

A hepatitis C outbreak in several states in 2011 has been traced to a hospital employee who purposely tainted needles in order to spread the disease. The worker is expected to be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges in connection with this frightening incident. Thirty people […]
Medication Errors

It is scary to think that a drug prescribed by our doctor and filled by a pharmacist could kill us. But deaths and injuries from medication errors happen all the time, unfortunately. Prescribing the wrong drug or the wrong dosage may be a form of medical malpractice and the physician responsible could be held financially […]
Medication Errors

Complications from a medication can range from minor side effects to permanent, devastating harm. Some bad reactions can even be fatal. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. die each year due to drugs that are supposed to help them. Unfortunately, much of the time people in Illinois are harmed by drugs due to a […]
Medication Errors

When people in Joliet get sick, they go to the doctor, who may prescribe something to help treat the problem or help us feel better. Many people have chronic health issues that require regular doctors’ visits and renewed prescriptions. But sometimes, negligent mistakes by the doctor or pharmacist can cause a patient to take the […]
Medication Errors

People in Joliet likely have known that painkiller addiction has become a serious problem in the U.S., but reading the number of overdoses in recent years may still be startling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on July 2 that the number of overdoses among women increased fivefold in just 12 years. Men […]
Medication Errors