Medication Error Examples

The following medication error information is provided by Pritzker | Olsen, P.A., a national law firm practicing in the area of medication error malpractice litigation. Attorneys at our law firm have been interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and other publications. Attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman have been named "Super Lawyers" by Law & Politics magazine. Fred Pritzker has also been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. To contact a lawyer at the firm regarding a medication error lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or sumbit the firm's free case review form.

Recent Medication Error Settlement
Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. has recently settled a prescription error wrongful death case where we alleged that a pharmacy compounded a drug to be 10 times the prescribed dose. Contact us regarding medication error death lawsuits.

Misuse of Tussionex Prescription Cough Medicine

On March 11, 2008, FDA informed health care professionals about adverse events and deaths in children and adults who have taken Tussionex Pennkinetic Extended-Release Suspension (Tussionex). Tussionex is a long-acting prescription cough medicine.

Hydrocodone, the narcotic ingredient in this medicine that controls cough, can cause life-threatening breathing problems when too much medicine is given at one time or when the medicine is given more frequently than recommended. Tussionex should not be used in children less than 6 years old.

Reports indicate that health care professionals have prescribed Tussionex for patients younger than the approved aged group of 6 years old and older, more frequently than the labeled dosing interval of every 12 hours ("extended release"), and that patients have administered the incorrect dose due to misinterpretation of the dosing directions and the use of inappropriate measuring devices. Overdose of Tussionex in older children, adolescents, and adults has also been associated with life-threatening and fatal breathing problems.

Overdoses of Cough and Cold Products in Children

Roughly 7,000 children ages 11 and younger are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year because of overdoses of OTC cough and cold medication, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About two-thirds of those incidents occurred when children took medication without a parent's knowledge. Parents should keep medication out of children's reach and should never describe medication as "candy."

OTC cough and cold products can be harmful if more than the recommended amount is used, if they are given too often, or if more than one product containing the same active ingredient is used. In January 2008, FDA issued a public health advisory recommending that OTC cough and cold products not be used in infants and children under 2.

Serious injuries and deaths have resulted from such errors as misunderstanding directions and failing to use the measuring devices that come with the medicine. For more information, see OTC Cough and Cold Products: Not for Infants and Children Under 2 Years of Age.

Overdoses of Acetaminophen

Taking too much of the pain reliever acetaminophen can lead to serious liver damage. The drug is sold under brand names such as Tylenol and Datril, and is also available in many cough and cold products, prescription pain relievers, and sleep aids.

To avoid accidental overdosing, consumers should not take more than the recommended dose on the label. Also, acetaminophen should not be taken for more days than recommended, and should not be taken with other drug products that also contain acetaminophen without direction from a health care provider.

Parents should be cautious when giving acetaminophen to children. For example, the infant drop formula is three times more concentrated than the children's liquid. So parents need to be sure to give the appropriate dose.

Misuse of Fentanyl Patches

FDA has issued warnings about the fentanyl transdermal system, an adhesive patch that delivers an opioid called fentanyl through the skin. An opioid is a potent pain medicine. It is also sometimes called a narcotic drug. Other examples of opioids include hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone.

The directions on the product label and package insert of the fentanyl transdermal system should be followed exactly in order to avoid overdose. Fentanyl patches should not be used for short-term acute pain, pain that is not constant, or for pain after an operation. The patch is only for moderate-to-severe chronic pain that is expected to last for any number of weeks or longer and that cannot be managed by acetaminophen-opioid combinations, nonsteroidal analgesics, or as-needed dosing with short-acting opioids.

Fentanyl patches are mostly prescribed for patients with cancer. Recent reports to FDA describe deaths and life-threatening side effects after doctors and other health care professionals inappropriately prescribed the patch to relieve pain after surgery, for headaches, or for occasional or mild pain in patients who were not opioid tolerant.

In other cases, patients have used the patch incorrectly. The patients replaced the patch more frequently than directed in the instructions, applied more patches than prescribed, or applied heat to the patch. All of these cases resulted in dangerously high fentanyl levels in the blood. Learn about a fentanyl patch lawsuit.

Overdoses with Methadone

FDA has issued a public health advisory cautioning practitioners to avoid overdoses when they are prescribing methadone or managing patients taking the drug.

Since the 1970s, methadone has been primarily used in treating drug abuse, but it is increasingly being used to treat pain. FDA issued the advisory because of reports of life-threatening adverse events and death in patients receiving methadone for pain control. Like other opioids, methadone causes slowed breathing, affects heart rate, and can also interact with other drugs. An overdose can occur because methadone stays in the body longer than the pain relief lasts. Learn more about methadone overdoses.

Mix-ups Between Edetate Disodium and Edetate Calcium Disodium

Both edetate disodium and edetate calcium disodium work by binding with heavy metals or minerals in the body, allowing them to be passed out of the body through the urine. Edetate calcium disodium was approved to treat severe lead poisoning. Edetate disodium was approved as an emergency treatment for certain patients with very high levels of calcium in the blood or certain patients with heart rhythm problems resulting from high amounts of the medication digoxin in the blood.

But a number of uses that are not approved by FDA have emerged. These include the removal of other heavy metals from the blood and the treatment of heart disease, commonly referred to as "chelation therapies."

In January 2008, FDA issued a public health advisory, warning that some children and adults have died when they were mistakenly given edetate disodium instead of edetate calcium disodium (calcium disodium versenate), or when edetate disodium was used for chelation therapies and other uses not approved by FDA.

The drugs are easily mistaken for each other because they have very similar names and are both commonly referred to only as "EDTA." One of FDA's recommendations is that the abbreviation not be used. Learn more about an edetate disodium error.

Walgreens Precription Error Lawsuits

A jury found that a Walgreens pharmacist gave a patient blood-thinner medication 10 times stronger than her doctor had prescribed. Jurors concluded the error caused the 42-year-old patient to suffer a serious stroke. Read more information on Walgreens prescription error and a Walgreens lawsuit.

For information on patient safety, please see the following:

We also have information on medication errors on our Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog.

To contact a medication error lawyer at Pritzker | Olsen, P.A., please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form.

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Hospital Malpractice Lawsuits

Hospital malpractice includes any type of medical negligence that occurs in a hospital setting, including errors by doctors, nurses, technicians and other hospital staff.

Neurosurgery Errors

Surgical errors are common and can lead to serious injury or death. In an article in the medical journal Neurosurgery that reported on a study of 1108 elective neurosurgical procedures, a neurosurgeon recorded 2684 errors in 87.1% of the cases. 22.6% of the errors were considered major. 78.5% of the errors were deemed preventable.

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