A nationwide shortage of a wide range of medications, including anesthetics and cancer-treatment drugs, has impacted the level of care at a Maryland hospital, according to a report in the Frederick News-Post. The shortage is affecting patient care all over the country, leading to greater risks for cancer patients, trauma…
A recent study examined the impact of injectable medication errors in hospitals, noting the impact of such errors on both patient health and hospital finances. Costs associated with adverse drug events (ADEs) associated with injectable medications can exceed $5 billion per year, the study found, and can affect over 1…
The California Department of Public Health recently issued fines for ten hospitals in that state, totaling $785,00 in penalties for medical errors that occurred between 2010 and 2011. Under California state law, hospitals are required to report errors to the state. The state decides the appropriate penalties and announces both…
There are approximately 1.3 million people in the United States injured by medication errors every year. Since 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) have received more than 95,000 reports of medication errors. These reports are voluntary, however, and it is believed that the rate of error is actually…
A woman’s lawsuit against the federal government alleges that incorrect diagnoses and incorrect dosages certain medications caused her sister’s suicide in 2010. The plaintiff in Grese v. United States is demanding $5 million in damages, claiming that doctors and other medical professionals with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)…
A lawsuit, Bethel v. United States, sought to hold the federal government liable for a medication error at a Veterans’ Affairs (VA) hospital that allegedly caused a man severe and permanent brain damage. The anesthesiologist directly accused of the error was an employee of a state hospital who, pursuant to…
A woman seeking treatment for an allergic reaction to a bee sting alleged in a lawsuit that she suffered severe and ongoing injuries when hospital staff incorrectly administered her medication. After a trial in Langley v. American Legion Hospital, the court awarded her $25,000 in damages, but awarded nothing to…
After a nurse’s medication error allegedly caused a man’s death, his executor claimed compensation under the Accidental Death Benefit (ADB) clause of his life insurance policy. The insurance company refused, arguing that the man’s death was not “accidental,” as defined by the policy. The executor sued, claiming in Estate of…
The arrest of a radiologic technician in New Hampshire on charges that he allegedly infected at least thirty-one hospital patients with hepatitis C, has led to concerns about similar outbreaks in at least seven other states where he worked in recent years, including Maryland. The technician also has a history…
Serious complications and injuries can result from discrepancies between the medications patients take at home, the medications they receive in the hospital, and the medications they take home with them. To prevent such medication errors, a recent study out of Johns Hopkins recommends that hospitals train teams of nurses and…