Medications are designed to help a patient heal, manage pain, control symptoms, or prevent a serious health problem from getting worse. However, when a patient receives the wrong dose, the consequences can be life-altering.
Examples of an incorrect dose include too much medication, too little medication, the wrong strength, the wrong timing, the wrong IV rate, or a dose not adjusted for the patient’s age, weight, kidney function, liver function, allergies, or other prescriptions.
Healthcare providers with weak safety systems, poor communication, or staffing issues are at risk of administering incorrect medication doses to patients.
Symptoms of an Incorrect Medication Dosage
The symptoms of an incorrect medication dose depend on the drug, the dose given, the patient’s health, and how quickly the error is caught. Although some symptoms may appear right away, others may not be noticeable for several hours or even days.
Possible symptoms may include:
- Severe drowsiness or unusual sleepiness.
- Confusion, agitation, or sudden changes in behavior.
- Dizziness, fainting, or loss of consciousness.
- Trouble breathing or slowed breathing.
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pain.
- Abnormal heart rate or blood pressure changes.
- Chest pain or heart palpitations.
- Seizures or tremors.
- Severe headache.
- Bleeding, bruising, or blood in urine or stool.
- Extreme weakness or fatigue.
- Low or high blood sugar.
- Allergic-type symptoms, such as rash, swelling, or wheezing.
- Kidney problems, including decreased urination.
- Liver problems, including yellowing of the skin or eyes.
- Worsening infection or worsening of the condition being treated.
- Poor pain control or return of serious symptoms.
- Coma or life-threatening decline in severe cases.
A patient or their at-home caregivers may not always know that a medication dose caused the problem. That’s why sudden symptoms appearing after starting a new medication, changing a dose, receiving IV medication, or being discharged from a hospital should be taken seriously.
How Incorrect Dosage Can Injure Patients
There are a variety of ways dosage issues can cause problems for patients. In the most serious cases, an incorrect dose can lead to stroke, brain injury, organ failure, cardiac arrest, coma, or even death.
Too much medication can poison the body, depress breathing, damage organs, cause bleeding, trigger dangerous heart rhythms, or cause a patient to become unconscious. Too little can also be dangerous because the patient’s condition may go untreated.
For instance, too little antibiotic may allow an infection to worsen, too little seizure medication may lead to seizures, and too little blood thinner may increase the risk of a clot.
When a medication is considered “high-alert,” it’s more likely that the patient will be injured by the incorrect dose. That can include insulin, opioids, blood thinners, concentrated electrolytes, chemotherapy drugs, sedatives, anesthesia medications, and certain heart medications. These drugs can be helpful when used correctly, but even a small mistake can have serious consequences.
Possible Medical Malpractice Involving Incorrect Dosage
For a case to be considered for a medical malpractice claim, the healthcare provider must have acted outside of the accepted standard of care, and the patient must have been harmed. In cases involving an incorrect dosage, there are several ways that staff can violate their duty.
Possible medical malpractice may include:
- Prescribing a dose that is unsafe for the patient’s age, weight, diagnosis, or medical history.
- Failing to review the patient’s kidney or liver function before ordering medication.
- Ignoring known allergies, drug interactions, or prior adverse reactions.
- Failing to check whether the patient is already taking a similar medication.
- Dispensing the wrong medication strength.
- Giving a dose meant for another patient.
- Programming an IV pump incorrectly.
- Giving medication by the wrong route, such as IV instead of oral.
- Failing to monitor vital signs, lab values, drug levels, or symptoms after giving medication.
- Failing to respond to signs of overdose, toxicity, allergic reaction, or worsening illness.
- Using unclear abbreviations or unsafe prescription formats.
- Failing to provide clear discharge instructions.
- Failing to double-check high-alert medications.
- Failing to train or supervise staff involved in medication administration.
Errors surrounding medication often involve both a systemic problem and human error. In malpractice cases that’s important because the issue is not always caused by a single careless person. Sometimes the problem is a chain of unsafe decisions, poor policies, rushed care, or missing safeguards.
Incorrect Dosage FAQs
Can too little medication be just as dangerous as too much?
Yes. While many people assume medication dosage errors only involve overdosing, underdosing is also dangerous.
If a patient with an infection receives too little antibiotic, it may spread. If a patient receives too little seizure medication, they may suffer a seizure. Patients who receive too little blood thinner may be at higher risk of a dangerous blood clot. Too little pain medication may also leave a patient in severe distress.
The danger depends on the drug, the condition being treated, and how long the error continues.
What medications are most dangerous when given at the wrong dose?
Depending on the medication, even a small dosing error can cause major damage to the patient. These often include insulin, opioids, blood thinners, sedatives, anesthesia medications, chemotherapy drugs, seizure medications, heart medications, and concentrated electrolytes.
These are often known as high-alert medications because mistakes with them can lead to severe and dangerous injury. These drugs may require extra checks, special labeling, careful monitoring, and clear communication between doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. When these safeguards are skipped, patients can suffer preventable harm.
Is an incorrect dosage always medical malpractice?
Not every bad reaction to medication is malpractice. Some patients experience side effects even when the correct dose is prescribed and given.
Medical malpractice can occur when a healthcare professional fails to follow the accepted standard of care and the patient is harmed. For example, malpractice may involve prescribing a dose that was clearly unsafe, ignoring kidney function, giving the wrong amount of the drug, failing to check allergies or possible interactions, or failing to monitor the patient after giving a risky medication.
The key question is whether the provider’s actions fell below accepted medical standards.
What records matter in an incorrect dosage malpractice case?
Important records may include doctor orders, medication administration records, pharmacy records, nursing notes, lab results, vital signs, discharge instructions, prescription labels, and records from follow-up care.
These documents are critical because they can show which medication was ordered, which dose was dispensed, which dose was actually given, and how the patient responded. In hospital cases, IV pump records and electronic medication logs are also useful. An experienced malpractice law firm, like the team at Weisser Law, can help gather and review these records with qualified medical experts to determine whether a preventable dosing error occurred.
Why should patients contact Weisser Law if they suspect medical malpractice played a role?
A patient may know that something went wrong, but the records may be needed to show who ordered the drug, who dispensed it, who administered it, and whether the dose was unsafe. Weisser Law can investigate what happened, identify possible errors, consult medical experts, and explain whether the patient may have a valid malpractice claim.
Our award-winning firm has won millions for medical malpractice victims across Florida. We’ll help you understand the options in front of you and establish a realistic value of your case, not what the insurance company wants to pay.