When doctors prescribe medications, it’s their legal duty to consider the benefits and risks of the medication to the patient’s health, how the prescription interacts with the patient’s other medications, and known side effects. There are many ways for prescriptions drugs to be distributed and administered and, sadly, there are many ways this process can go wrong. The result of a prescription error could be medical malpractice.
The Many Forms of Prescription Drug Errors
Prescription drug errors can include:
- Prescribing the wrong medication: The pharmaceutical industry is enormous and, as a result, doctors have thousands of options from which to choose when it comes to prescribing drugs. Patients trust that they are being prescribed the medication that is most beneficial to their health and current condition and least likely to cause any negative effects. Unfortunately, some doctors don’t get it right and the medication prescribed does more harm than good – and the doctor was negligent in overlooking this possibility.
- Prescribing the wrong dosage of medication: Too much of a certain medication can cause a patient harm, but so can too little of the prescribed medicine. Quite often, prescription errors are not identified until the patient experiences harm or adverse side effects.
- Neglecting to consider drug interactions: It is a prescriber’s responsibility to be aware of any other medications a patient takes and prescribe meds that will not negatively interact with them. Pharmacists could also be held liable for this kind of negligence if they are your sole provider of medication – they have a clear record of the medications you have taken and whether there could be any negative interactions between them.
- Pharmacist error: Pharmacists have the responsibility to correctly read a doctor’s prescription, fill the script with the correct medication and in the prescribed dosage, and properly label the medication. If any of these balls are dropped, the result could be tragic.
- Failure to disclose side effects: When a patient believes a doctor did not take every possible step to advise them on the side effects of a medication or how the drug could lead to complications now being experienced, there could be an argument of failure-to-warn. You hear the commercials on television for certain medications – and the lengthy list of side effects that accompany them. Some of these can occur and the result, for some people, can be fatal.
- Incorrect administration of medication: Some prescription meds are administered through an injection, whether in a doctor’s office or hospital setting. Nurses and other care providers have the responsibility of administering the correct medication in the proper dosage, in the right way, and in the proper location on the body, where applicable. Charts can be misread, administration of drugs may not be recorded, any number of problems could occur in the administration of medication.
Medical Malpractice and Prescription Errors
To make it simple, anyone who is involved in prescribing or administering medications can be liable when it comes to prescription drug errors. This includes not only doctors and pharmacists, but nurses, hospitals, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Medication mistakes are dangerous and far too common. Sometimes the problem with prescription errors doesn’t begin with the drug itself but with a doctor’s misdiagnosis of a health condition.
If you have suffered because of prescription errors, contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Thurswell Law. It’s time to discuss whether you have a medical malpractice case, a products liability lawsuit, or otherwise. Not every prescription error has to be life-threatening to disrupt your way of life or your ability to do your job or provide for your family. Contact Thurswell Law for a free consultation. Our attorneys have the experience to get you the compensation you deserve. We do not charge any fees unless you collect. Call (248) 354-2222 today to schedule your consultation.
