One of the most common causes for drug injuries in the United States today is medication errors, which occur when patients are given too much or too little of a drug—or the wrong medication altogether.
And according to new research, these types of drug injuries may be more common than you think, especially among children. An article from Time magazine features a new study showing that one in eight children will be victims of medication errors this year alone.
Researchers examined medical records collected over a decade and discovered more than 200,000 drug errors reported to poison control centers each year. The victims in roughly one-third of those cases were children under age 6. Almost 82 percent of the incidents involved liquid medications, while almost 15 percent of injuries were caused by tablets or capsules.
The research team that conducted the study suggested that drug makers improve the labeling and dosage directions for their products.
The drug injury attorneys with Ferrer Poirot Feller have seen the devastating results that medication errors can have and are hopeful this study prompts action to better protect patients from harm.