Medication Errors Lead to Death and Injury

Ben Glass

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 320

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One of the most frequent calls we get at our office involves medication errors, usually in a hospital setting. Fortunately, most errors are caught before any permanent harm is done. A new report from the Institute of Medicine suggests that the problem may be even more widespread than previously imagined.

The report said that at least 1.5 million people are sickened, injured or killed each year and that the extra cost of treating medication errors is 3.5 billion dollars a year. The report estimates that at least 400,000 preventable deaths and injuries a year occur in hospitals alone. The report suggests that improvements along the lines of more bar coding and electronic prescribing would decrease the errors, injuries and deaths.

If you would like to learn more about malpractice claims, in general, in Virginia, visit our Virginia Medical Malpractice Website.