Patients rely on their doctors to make informed decisions about what kinds of medicines and at which dosage to use. When a patient receives a medicine and later discovers that an error caused them to suffer preventable harm, this may turn into a case handled by medical malpractice attorneys.
Research shows that nearly 1.5 million Americans suffer medication error injuries every single year. This can impact your health and cause minor, serious, or fatal injuries.
If you or someone in your family recently discovered drug errors, you need to consult with a medication error attorney in Plantation, FL, to verify your rights and identify the next steps. You may be eligible for compensation for your injuries.
Speak with Scarfone Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorneys to determine if your case meets the grounds to hold someone else responsible for medication errors.
Types of Medical Errors
Although the field of medical malpractice incorporates many different types of negligence by medical professionals or physicians, medication errors are some of the most common.
Many different kinds of medication errors can happen in any healthcare situation.
These can include things such as the wrong dosage — in which the right medication in the wrong dosage is given to the patient.
Wrong medication situations — in which the wrong prescription is given to a patient could worsen their health problem and keep them from getting the medical treatment they need.
Harmful interactions of medications — in which a healthcare professional fails to see potential reactions between existing and future drugs.
Mislabeling — in which a drug has improper instructions or does not have the appropriate label for the medication inside, and allergic medications, in which a doctor fails to consider how a given medication could cause allergies or other problems in a patient.
A healthcare provider must evaluate each situation and do everything possible to verify that the right medication is being recommended and given. In those cases in which a doctor makes a mistake that deviates from the standard of care that that patient should have received, this can lead to a medication error lawsuit.
Effects of Incorrect Medications
Incorrect medications cause many issues. A patient taking medications has a current health problem and expects that the medication they receive will alleviate it.
Due to medication errors, a patient might wind up suffering from other issues like:
- Side effects caused by an unnecessary or wrongly prescribed drug
- Interaction issues with this new drug and their existing medication routine
- Worsening health due to not receiving treatment needed for the underlying condition
Depending on the patient’s health and the kind of medication error, this can cause anything from mild impacts to severe or even fatal consequences. No patient should have to cope with preventable harm due to medication errors, and those who do can file lawsuits under Florida law.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Medication Error?
A medication and prescription error attorney in Plantation, Florida, will do everything to investigate your accident necessary to determine who may be held responsible. The physician who made a medication error is not the only individual who could be named liable in a lawsuit.
Multiple parties can be held accountable, including:
- Medical professionals like doctors or nurses
- Hospitals
- Pharmacy staff and pharmacists
- Drug manufacturers
- Third parties
An investigation into your case will determine if more than one party is responsible for your injuries and whether or not a third party could be called into question. Third parties may include people outside the scope of your initial treatment but who were involved at some point in the process of making or selling the medicine.
For example, if a warehouse manager stored the medications improperly and this led to them becoming defective, these third parties may be held responsible for a medication error in a lawsuit.
Do Medication Errors Constitute Malpractice?
In medical malpractice cases, a patient alleges that a doctor or some other responsible party deviated from a duty of care that the patient was owed. Similarly, a medication error case involves claims that someone involved in the medication storing, prescribing, or filling process made a mistake that caused the patient harm.
Just as someone who undergoes the wrong surgery or develops an infection due to preventable circumstances, there are grounds to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. A patient who suffers preventable injuries due to medication errors retains the right to recover compensation.
When a patient believes the manufacturer created or produced a dangerous drug, that might instead become a defective drug or class action lawsuit. In those claims, patients argue that the drug was unsafe, to begin with, even when prescribed and taken in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
When do I sue someone for a medication error?
As soon as possible, after you have realized that you have suffered a serious medication error problem, you need to report these concerns to a prescription error lawyer. You have a limited period of time in which to file a lawsuit, and it is important to retain legal counsel with extensive experience in medical malpractice suits.
In Florida, you must file your lawsuit within four years of the date of the malpractice and no later than two years after you discover your injuries.
Get Answers Now with a Medication and Prescription Error Attorney in Plantation, FL
Since a doctor, hospital or any other at-fault party will most likely have experienced malpractice defense lawyers ready to step into the case, you need someone who will advocate for you and your side of the story, too.
You may not be responsible for the damages tied to a medication error. If you are trying to figure out what’s next after identifying a medication error, you need a medical malpractice attorney in Plantation, FL, to help. Contact us at Scarfone Auto Accident and Personal Injury Attorneys to schedule your consultation.