Preventable medical errors have been linked to longer hospitalizations, excess costs, and increased mortality. This study explored the longer term effects of patient safety incidents by exploring whether adverse events, as measured by AHRQ's Patient Safety Indicators, were linked to an increased risk of hospital readmission. Patients who suffered a pulmonary embolism or an accidental puncture or laceration during hospitalization were significantly more likely to be readmitted within 1 month, and a broad array of adverse events were linked to a 3-month increased readmission risk. Two cases of preventable readmissions are discussed in this AHRQ WebM&M commentary.