Dosage Errors in Hospital Settings

Hospitals administer powerful drugs every day, all of which require precise dosing tailored to the individual patient. When a hospital fails to ensure that medications are ordered, prepared, dispensed, and administered correctly, the consequences can be immediate and devastating. Dosage errors in hospital settings can lead to organ failure, permanent injury, prolonged hospitalization, or death. If you or a loved one were harmed by dosage errors in a hospital setting, it is in your best interest to talk to an attorney about your potential claims. The skilled Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers represent individuals whose lives have been severely disrupted by preventable hospital medication errors, and if you hire us, we will help you seek the results you deserve. We regularly advocate for injured patients throughout Syracuse, Rochester, and Upstate New York.

Dosage errors in hospital settings can occur at multiple points in the medication process, often due to systemic failures rather than a single isolated mistake. Errors may arise when physicians prescribe the wrong dose, fail to account for a patient’s weight, kidney function, or age, or neglect to adjust medications for known drug interactions. Pharmacists may miscalculate doses, dispense the incorrect concentration, or fail to clarify unclear or incomplete orders. Nurses may administer the wrong amount, give medication at the wrong rate, or deliver a drug intended for another patient. In fast-paced hospital environments, breakdowns in communication, understaffing, reliance on electronic order systems, and inadequate double-checking procedures significantly increase the risk of error.

The harm caused by dosage errors in hospital settings can be profound and far-reaching. Patients may suffer overdoses leading to respiratory depression, cardiac arrhythmias, internal bleeding, or neurological injury. Underdosing can be equally dangerous, allowing infections to worsen, blood clots to form, or pain and symptoms to remain uncontrolled. Some patients experience acute organ damage, such as kidney or liver failure, while others sustain long-term complications that permanently alter their health.

To recover compensation for injuries caused by dosage errors in hospital settings, an injured patient must establish the elements of medical negligence under New York law: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Duty arises when a hospital and its staff undertake responsibility for a patient’s care. Hospitals owe patients a duty to implement safe medication systems, employ properly trained professionals, and ensure that medications are prescribed and administered in accordance with accepted medical standards.

A breach of duty occurs when the hospital or its employees fail to meet those standards. In dosage error cases, breaches may include prescribing an incorrect dose, failing to adjust medication for renal or hepatic impairment, administering medication without proper verification, improperly programming infusion pumps, or failing to monitor a patient after administration of high-risk drugs. Hospitals may also be held liable for institutional failures, such as inadequate staffing, poor training, unsafe electronic medical record systems, or a lack of effective medication reconciliation procedures. Because these cases involve complex clinical judgment and hospital practices, expert testimony is almost always needed to establish how medications should be managed and how the defendants’ conduct deviated from accepted standards of care.

Causation requires proof that the dosage error was a substantial factor in causing the patient’s injuries. This often involves demonstrating that the patient’s condition worsened or new injuries developed as a direct result of receiving too much or too little medication. Experts may analyze medication records, laboratory values, vital signs, and clinical progression to establish a clear link between the dosing mistake and the harm suffered. Defense arguments frequently attempt to attribute injuries to the patient’s underlying illness, making careful medical analysis essential.

The final element is damages. Under New York law, patients harmed by dosage errors in hospital settings may recover economic damages, including the cost of emergency treatment, prolonged hospitalization, corrective procedures, rehabilitation, future medical care, lost income, and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages may also be awarded and can include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the psychological impact of medical trauma.

Dosage errors in hospital settings can transform necessary medical treatment into a life-threatening event, leaving patients and families struggling to understand how such mistakes occurred. If you or a loved one suffered serious harm because a hospital administered the wrong medication dose, it is critical to seek experienced legal guidance. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our trusted Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys are committed to holding negligent providers accountable, and if we represent you, we will gather any evidence in your favor to provide you with a strong chance of a favorable outcome. Our main office is in Syracuse, and we regularly represent victims of medical malpractice in Syracuse, Rochester, and Upstate New York. You can contact us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation through our online form or by calling 833-200-2000.