The Tennessee Department of Health opened a formal investigation Sunday into pharmacy dispensing and drug-verification procedures at a hospital where a medication mix-up left a 72-year-old woman paralyzed and affected three additional patients.

Glenda Dorton was paralyzed after receiving an incorrect medication during treatment, according to her family and their attorney. Records showed at least three other patients received the same wrong drug, suggesting a systemic breakdown rather than an isolated error.

Medication errors are among the most common preventable harms in American hospitals. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices has repeatedly warned that look-alike, sound-alike drugs and inadequate barcode scanning at the bedside drive dispensing mistakes. Federal data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality attribute thousands of adverse events annually to such failures.

The Dorton family's attorney said they intend to pursue legal action and have called for an independent review of the hospital's pharmacy protocols. Patient-safety advocates urged the hospital to disclose which medications were involved and whether automated safeguards had been bypassed.

The Tennessee Department of Health can impose corrective action plans, fines, or licensure penalties if investigators substantiate violations of state safety standards.