As a parent, you probably trust the doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who prescribe and administer medication to your child. Unfortunately, medication errors can and do occur. The World Health Organization estimates that medication errors injure approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S. each year. It is estimated that about 30 percent of medication error injuries occur to children. When the victim of a medication mistake is a child, the consequences can be especially significant.
Common Medication Mistakes
Medicine can save lives. However, when the wrong medication or the wrong dose of medication is prescribed or administered to a child, the results can be life-changing. Children who are given the wrong medication can suffer new and worsening health problems. Sometimes, the child is not strong enough to survive these additional and avoidable health effects.
Harmful medication errors may be caused by:
- Illegible handwriting on prescriptions or other paperwork
- Mixing up “sound-alike” medications
- Inaccurate doses of medication
- Skipped doses of medication
- Not checking for drug allergies
- Not warning the patient (or the patient’s parents) about the possible side effects or risks of a medication
- Not checking for harmful drug interactions
- Incorrect medication administration procedure such as giving an intravenous medication orally
- Incorrectly preparing the medication
These are just some of the medication mistakes that a child may fall victim to. If a medication professional or medical facility’s mistake or oversight harmed your child, contact a medical malpractice lawyer for help.
Seeking Justice for a Child Harmed by a Medication Mistake
If your child was harmed by a medication error, you may be able to take legal action against the party who was responsible for the mistake. You may be entitled to financial compensation for additional medical bills caused by the mistake, your child’s pain and suffering, funeral and burial costs, and more. Money cannot undo the harm your child had to endure, but it may hold the at-fault party accountable.
Contact a Houston Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacist technicians, and other medical professionals can cause severe injuries and even death when they make medication mistakes. Medication mistakes can be especially harmful when the victim is a child. If your son or daughter was the victim of a medical mistake, contact the Law Office of Shane R. Kadlec to discuss your legal options. You may be able to pursue financial compensation and justice for your child through a medical malpractice claim.
Call our knowledgeable Harris County medical malpractice lawyers at 281-643-2000 for a free consultation.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089677/
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