Errors in providing medication to hospital patients can have severe, potentially life-threatening consequences due to adverse interactions, side effects, or disruptions to a mandatory medication schedule. But when does a medication error by a hospital become medical malpractice? Understanding how a healthcare professional’s negligence can lead to a medication error helps you determine whether you have a legal claim if someone made a mistake with your medication during your care in a New York hospital.
Understanding Medication Errors
A medication error refers to a mistake made by healthcare professionals in dispensing a prescription drug to a patient. Practitioners can make mistakes at any stage of the process of dispensing or administering medications, including:
- Prescribing a contraindicated drug (e.g., a drug that would have adverse interactions with the patient’s other medications, that would cause the patient to have an allergic reaction, or that would likely cause severe adverse side effects)
- Miscalculating the dosage based on the patient’s gender, weight, current health condition, etc.
- Filling a prescription incorrectly (e.g., dispensing the wrong drug or dosage)
- Administering medication to the wrong patient or administering medication at the wrong time(s)
Common Causes of Medication Errors in New York Hospitals
Some of the most frequent causes of medication errors that occur in hospitals in New York include:
- Failure to consult reference materials when selecting medications or calculating dosage
- Illegible prescription orders that pharmacists misread or errors in transcribing a prescription order into a typed format
- Use of incorrect or nonstandard abbreviations, shorthand, or measuring units in prescription orders
- Breakdowns in communications between prescribing practitioners, pharmacists, and nurses regarding what drugs to administer to a patient and when
- Staffing shortages or high patient volumes that result in workplace fatigue
- Inadequate patient monitoring after drug administration
- Lack of safety protocols designed to prevent medication errors, such as two-party checks or scannable barcodes on medications and patient bracelets
When Does a Medication Error Become Malpractice?
A medication error may result from a practitioner’s or hospital staff member’s malpractice when the individual responsible for the error made the mistake due to a deviation from the accepted standard of care, and the error causes the patient to suffer some form of harm, such as a health complication, aggravation of an existing condition, or physical injury. Although the specific standard of care depends on the circumstances of a patient’s case, healthcare professionals define it as the decisions and actions that other professionals of similar training and experience would make in identical circumstances. Deviations from the accepted standard of care may include failing to consult reference materials to confirm whether a medication would trigger the patient’s known allergies, prescribing a drug beyond accepted dosage limits, or failing to follow best practices to confirm the patient’s identity before administering medication.
Who Can You Hold Responsible for a Medication Error
Various parties involved in administering medication to a hospital patient may bear responsibility for a medication error, including:
- The prescribing physician, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner
- The pharmacist
- The nurse who administers the medication
The hospital may also bear liability for a medication error made by an employee, pursuant to a legal theory of employer liability.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
Negligence by practitioners and staff in hospitals can lead to errors with dispensing medication to patients, potentially causing those patients to suffer severe complications and harm. Contact McCann Legal, PC today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a New York medical malpractice lawyer to learn how an error with the medication you receive in a hospital in New York may give you the right to pursue financial compensation in a malpractice claim.