The American Hospital Association lists the following as some common types of medications errors: incomplete patient information (not knowing about patients' allergies, other medicines they are taking, previous diagnoses, and lab results, for example);
American Hospital Association. Hospital Statistics. 2004 edition. Chicago, IL: Health Forum, LLC;2004

Even Children with easily recognized problems might be difficult to treat when a physician is unfamiliar with their medical histories.
American College of Emergency Physicians© Children with special health care needs Fact Sheets from ACEP.org

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) last November claimed more people die in American hospitals from medical mistakes than die nationwide from better known causes including highway accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.
CNN.com Health April 2000

Parents or caregivers may not always be there to relay important medical information in an emergency. Also, when a child is sick or injured, even the best parents cannot always be expected to objectively report their child's long, complex medical history.
American College of Emergency Physicians© Children with special health care needs Fact Sheets from ACEP.org

Parents of children with special needs must have a mechanism in place to relay essential medical information about their child to emergency health care providers, regardless of their presence or immediate capabilities.
American College of Emergency Physicians© Children with special health care needs Fact Sheets from ACEP.org

Older Americans being treated outside the hospital are likely to suffer from adverse effects due to their medicine, according to a study published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. One-quarter of these problems--which are often life threatening--are cuased by preventable medical errors, the study says.
Medical errors Deadly Drug Mistakes Common In Seniors. Matthew Herper, Forbes Magazine

There were 110 million hospital emergency room visits in 2003.
American Hospital Association. Hospital Statistics, 2004 edition

There were 11.8 million auto accidents with 2.4 million injuries in 2003.
National Safety Council™ 2004 Injury Facts©

The Journal of the American Medical Association... reports that as many as 98,000 people die each year from medical errors in American hospitals.
CNN.com Health April 2000

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) last November claimed more people die in American hospitals from medical mistakes than die nationwide from better known cuases including highway accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.
CNN.com Health April 2000

76% of Americans spent the night away from their home town in 2003. Americans took 1.14 Billion trips in 2003.
Travel Industry Association of America. Travelscope©

Older Americans have the highest rate of visits to the emergency department with about 60 visits for every 100 persons.
2003 National Center for Health Statistics CDC™