After suffering an injury from a medication error, victims often wonder how this could happen. Medication errors can be caused by a number of factors. In most instances, the medication error could have been avoided had a medical professional who handled the prescription used proper care. The following are common causes of medication errors that may have resulted from a medical professional's negligence: The Dosage Was Misread: In some cases, the medical professional filling a prescription will misread the dosage and prescribe too much or too little medicine. For instance, a doctor may prescribe .1 MG of a given drug, but the medical professional fills 1.0 MG. The Prescribing Doctor Ignored The Patient's Medical History: When the patient's medical history is ignored, they may suffer severe injuries if they are allergic to the prescribed drug or if it cannot be combined with their other medication. The Patient Was Not Monitored Properly: When a drug with potentially harmful side effects is prescribed, the patient may need to be monitored by a physician. The failure to monitor the patient can result in severe injury or sickness. It is important for injured individuals to keep in mind that suffering harm from medication is not necessarily grounds for a lawsuit. Individuals who have suffered an injury or illness from a medication error only have a valid claim if the medical professional's mistake was the result of negligence. For instance, if a patient was prescribed medication they are allergic too, but there was no record of allergies in their medical history, they may not have grounds for a lawsuit.