Tom Steinbacher Sr. and Christine Steinbacher, as co-administrators of their son’s estate, filed the complaint in Cook County Circuit Court on April 21. They are seeking a jury trial in addition to damages in excess of $50,000. Among the doctors, pharmacies and health care facilities named as defendants in the suit were Walgreen Co., Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., Loyola University Medical Center Co. and Dr. Robert J. Barnes.

According to the lawsuit, the teenager died of morphine intoxication on April 22, 2014. The DuPage County coroner’s office confirmed the cause of his death the following day. Morphine is a prescription drug for treating acute or chronic pain. It can cause serious harm such as seizures and addiction when used erroneously, and overdoses can be fatal.

The teen had been prescribed morphine for pain. The Steinbachers claimed the defendants were negligent in prescribing the morphine and failed to advise them of its dangers. The plaintiffs alleged the instructions for the medication’s use were incorrectly transcribed on the label. They did not reflect the instructions that the prescribing doctor provided to the pharmacy.

Prescription medication errors are a common form of medical malpractice that can have minimal to fatal consequences. Some common mistakes include administering the incorrect drug or dosage, mislabeling the medication or failing to warn the patient about its side effects. Pharmacies, hospitals, doctors, nurses, other individuals and facilities involved with prescribing drugs can be liable for such errors.

If you suffered an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.

According to the Cook County Record, Madiline Hicks filed a lawsuit in Cook County Court. The lawsuit alleges personal injury on the part of defendants Walgreen Co., Bond Drug Company of Illinois LLC and Edward C. Chen, a pharmacist. The complaint states that on January 4, 2014, Hicks requested a recommendation from Chen at a Walgreens for a sinus medication that would be safe for her to take along with her anti-epilepsy prescription medication, Kepra. The lawsuit says that Chen, who had previously filled several of Hicks’ prescriptions, assured her that she could safely take Sudafed with it.

However, due to the incompatibility of the drugs, she lost consciousness and fell into a coma. Hicks accuses Chen and Walgreens of committing a violation of their responsibilities to give her proper medical advice. She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

The FDA reveals that medical errors cause injury to over one million people annually in the United States and result in a minimum of one fatality per day. Such mistakes include pharmaceutical errors. The most common medication errors are those involving the wrong dosage, incorrect prescriptions and drug interactions.

In some cases, the physician gives the patient a prescription for a drug without first determining whether there is a possibility for an adverse interaction with other medications that the patient is taking. Medication errors can cause harm and in some instances, can even be fatal. When a patient takes an incorrect dose of a medication, it can cause an overdose, which can have lasting effects.

If you suffer an injury or illness as a result of a medication error due to negligence or medical malpractice, you should consult the medical malpractice attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg.