St. Louis, Kansas City, Independence Drug Error Attorney: News Room
Who
Douglas R. Horn, founder of The Horn Law Firm
Doug Horn founded Independence, Missouri-based Horn Law in 1990. Since then, his practice is increasingly comprised of complex cases involving medication errors. Our experienced pharmacist malpractice and drug error attorney, a reputable lawyer serving Kansas City, St. Louis, and Independence, help medication error victims get full and fair compensation for their injuries every day. No case is too small or too large, and the firm takes seriously its responsibility to achieve the best possible resolution for each client.
Prior to opening Horn Law, Horn represented large corporations, healthcare providers, and insurance companies. His experience on the "other side" of cases uniquely prepared him to represent plaintiffs and maximize recovery for his clients' losses.
Following are a sampling of recent drug error cases that attorney Doug Horn has successfully resolved on behalf of clients who have suffered disabling injuries or worse:
- A 9-month-old infant who was near death because of a prescription error made by a pharmacist at a larger chain pharmacy drug store
- A wrongful death settlement for the parent of a child on the basis of alleged hospital medication error
- Two separate cases of hospital pharmacy error resulting in brain damage to Horn Law clients
- A young mother in Minnesota who developed a complicated medical condition, because she received a significant overdose of a thyroid medication
What
Medical errors claim more lives each year than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. A 2000 Institute of Medicine "To Err is Human" report found that medical errors may cause as many as 98,000 deaths each year. A 2004 study, "HealthGrades Quality Study - Patient Safety in American Hospitals," suggested that the death toll from medical errors is even higher at 195,000 deaths annually.
The largest category of medical errors is medication errors. Horn's experience supports other expert opinions that the most common medication and prescribing errors include:
- Confusing similar drug names
- Administering the wrong dosage
- Failing to recognize a patient's history of allergies
- Miscommunication between doctors and pharmacists caused by illegible handwriting or abbreviation misinterpretation
- Failing to check patient identification to ensure a drug is administered to the intended patient
In almost every instance, medication errors involve preventable human errors caused by:
- Healthcare practitioner mistakes - Nurses or technicians sometimes fail to ensure that the right patient receives the right drug in the correct dosage
- Environmental distractions - increasing consumer demand, work interruptions such as ringing telephones and high noise levels, especially in big-box pharmacies
- Staffing issues - too few employees who are inadequately trained
- Administrative breakdowns - policies, procedures and protocols designed to enhance safety are not followed
Why
Besides helping individual victims of pharmacist malpractice or a drug error, attorney Doug Horn is committed to doing what he can to force pharmacies and healthcare facilities to implement comprehensive patient safety programs that reduce errors and lower healthcare costs. Some of the larger, metropolitan hospitals around the country have instituted computerized systems such as bar coding, which should help to reduce the error rate.
Smaller hospitals and facilities in more rural areas, however, typically do not have the resources to put such systems into place. The high cost of technological advancements leaves many smaller hospitals and clinics more error-prone and their patients more vulnerable.
How
For more information, visit www.hornlaw.com.
Pharmacist Malpractice: St. Louis, Kansas City, Independence - Contact a Drug Error Lawyer
Please contact Robyn Caulfield at 913.663.4200 or robyncpr@everestkc.net to schedule an interview with drug error lawyer Doug Horn. Attorney Horn maintains offices in St. Louis, Independence, and downtown Kansas City. He also consults with clients from Columbia, Springfield, Overland Park, Topeka, Omaha, Des Moines, and other areas in the Midwest.
Contact Attorney Doug Horn
Serving clients throughout Missouri, Kansas, and the Midwest
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INDEPENDENCE, MO
19049 Valley View Parkway, Suite J
Independence, Missouri 64055
KANSAS CITY, MO
Two Pershing Square, 2300 Main Street, 9th Floor
Kansas City, MO 64108
ST LOUIS, MO
West Port Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63146
OVERLAND PARK, KS
College & Metcalf, Overland Park, KS