The quality of healthcare and pharmaceuticals in this country is generally very high. However, prescription medication errors do occur and often result in devastating consequences for the patient. Studies indicate that as many as 30 million medical prescriptions are filled in error at pharmacies each year. Adverse reactions to receiving improper medication can result in serious illness, organ damage and death.
Pharmaceutical errors, which are a type of medical malpractice, fall into two main categories – dispensing the wrong medication or giving the patient the wrong dosage. In some cases, the pharmacist may also fail to account for known drug allergies or harmful drug interactions with other medications. Other prescription medication errors may occur, including:
- Giving the wrong medication (example: the bottle is correctly labeled with an anti-seizure medication but is incorrectly filled with blood pressure pills).
- Dispensing a combination of medications known to cause a overdose (example: dispensing multiple medications that slow the heart rate and result in a beta blocker or calcium channel blocker overdose).
- Failing to contact the prescribing physician regarding the known risks posed by a combination of medications (example: calling the physician to double-check a second prescription for painkillers such as Tramadol and methadone).
- Failing to detect drug allergies (example: dispensing bactrim or septra which is contraindicated for patients allergic to sulfa).
- Failing to develop and maintain appropriate quality assurance systems in a retail pharmacy setting such as Walgreens, CVS, or Walmart.
The attorneys at Burnside Law Firm LLP have experience representing people injured as a result of pharmacy errors. We consult with pharmacology experts who can testify about the toxicity of the medication or dosage received, and with experts who can show that the pharmacist made an error that caused an injury or death. To learn more about filing a claim due to a pharmacy error or prescription medication error, please contact a lawyer at the law firm of Burnside Law Firm for a free consultation.
To help us better understand your Personal Injury issue, please fill out our intake form.
