Prescription Errors and Malpractice

When you take a medication, you trust that your symptoms will be cured or at the very least mitigated. However, prescription errors and negligence can occur and may cause more harm on top of what you were already suffering from, even wrongful death. If this happens, it’s important to contact a prescription error attorney.

At Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys, our medical malpractice legal team has the experience to help those suffering from a pharmacist and/or medical practitioner mistake. We know how to seek compensation to cover loss of normal life, pain, and suffering that results in serious personal injury and/or wrongful death.     

What is a Prescription Error?

A prescription error is when a physician, nurse, pharmacist, or some other medical professional makes a negligent mistake with someone’s medication. Prescription errors can range in severity, from mostly unnoticeable to life-threatening, or wrongful death. Some examples of prescription errors include:

• A medical provider prescribes the wrong medication – Sometimes, clerical errors can occur anywhere in the doctor-pharmacy chain. These errors result in the wrong medication being prescribed. This could lead to potentially life-threatening situations.
• The pharmacist or other provider gives the wrong dosage of medication (e.g. 200 mg instead of 20 mg) – It only takes a single misplaced decimal point, poor eyesight, a clerical error, bad handwriting, or poor hearing to result in the wrong dosage being given. When this occurs, patients may end up taking 10 or even 100 times the recommended amount of medication.
• An incorrect frequency is listed on the medication – A patient may, through prescription error, end up taking medication for too long a time period or too many times per day.
• A medical professional fails to warn about harmful and possibly life-threatening side effects – Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals are supposed to inform patients about possible side effects. Failure to do so could result in deadly circumstances.
• A medical professional fails to investigate possible allergic reactions or adverse drug interactions – It’s crucial that the prescription medication doesn’t induce an allergic reaction or interact negatively with other medications the patient takes. If either situation occurs, the patient could suffer serious harm.
• There are unclear, incomplete, or absent medication instructions that lead to harm – There is no use in medication if the patient doesn’t know how to take it in a safe manner. Inadequate instructions can cause problems and leave the patient guessing on what they’re supposed to be doing.
• The medication is administered incorrectly – When a medical professional administers medication incorrectly (e.g. giving a shot instead of pills, crushing pills that were supposed to be swallowed whole, etc.), the effects could be anywhere from neutral to catastrophic.
• The prescription is handwritten or sloppy – While most medical facilities have switched to electronic medical records, some places still use handwritten documents. Messy handwriting leads to misinterpretations all the way up the doctor-pharmacist chain, and this ultimately harms the patient.
• The medication is mislabeled/improperly packaged – When a medication is mislabeled or improperly packaged, the patient could suffer more harm than good because of negligent transfer and delivery methods.

How Can I Prove Medical Malpractice?

It’s one thing when a prescription error occurs. Proving that medical malpractice occurred, however, is something else entirely. Navigating the complexities of medical malpractice laws can be confusing. If you have questions about your medical malpractice case, be sure to contact Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys. For now, though, here is a brief overview of the elements needed for a successful medical malpractice case:

1. A medical relationship existed – You must prove that the entity responsible for the prescription error was responsible for your care. This can usually be established by medical records, prescription receipts, doctors’ notes, and other documentation.
2. Negligence occurred – You must prove that the physician, nurse, pharmacist, or whatever other health care professional in charge of your care was negligent when it came to your treatment. This means that there must have been a standard of care and that the responsible party must have failed to abide by that standard.
3. You suffered damages – It isn’t enough that a medical relationship existed and that negligence occurred. You must also prove that you suffered damages as a direct result of the responsible party’s negligence. In other words, if you suffer injury not related to your medication, for example, you may not have a good chance at a prescription error lawsuit.

This is only a summary, and actual court cases are much more detailed and complicated. Don’t lose hope, though. Contact Lerner and Rowe right away for a free consultation regarding your prescription error case.

Have Questions on Your Prescription Errors Case?

If you or someone you love suffer from a negligent prescription error, or even a wrongful death, contact Lerner and Rowe Injury Attorneys right away. Our compassionate and relentless lawyers work tirelessly for the compensation you deserve. We know how to handle pharmacists, medical care providers, and pharmaceutical companies to get them to pay top-dollar for their negligence.

Contact us anytime at 844-977-1900. You can also visit us in one of our offices Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Additionally, you can get in touch with us by filling out an online form or by taking advantage of our convenient LiveChat feature.

Don’t keep your questions and concerns to yourself; contact Lerner and Rowe today!