Baltimore Prescription Drug & Pharmacy Errors Lawyers
Medication errors can result in significant injury or death. Murphy, Falcon & Murphy has an entire staff of attorneys and investigators who work together to determine liability for medication errors and recover damages for our injured client.
Prescription Medication Negligence
Medication is prescribed for a specific reason because the patient needs it to produce the desired effect. Some medications are used to cure things, like antibiotics used to eradicate an infection in the body. Other medications are used for serious chronic conditions, like insulin for diabetics or blood pressure medication. Oral chemotherapy drugs may be prescribed to help kill cancer. Whatever the reason for the prescription, it’s important that the exact amount of the medication be used in the exact right way. If even one aspect of the criteria is wrong, there can be devastating consequences for the patient.
Many people are involved in the prescribing and dispensing of prescription medication. Doctors write the prescription, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians prepare the medication, pharmacy staff deliver the medication to the patient, and, in medical facilities nurses and medical technicians administer the medication.
At any stage in the process, there is the opportunity for multiple errors to be made. When a pharmacy makes a mistake, the patient may not know until it’s too late. Common errors made at the pharmacy include:
- Wrong medication. Very different medications can have similar names. Labels can be misread resulting in the incorrect medication being sold to the patient. The patient may not be familiar with the chemical name of the medication or what the medication is supposed to look like. Taking the wrong medication can be life-threatening or deadly.
- Incorrect dose. If the pharmacist doesn’t look carefully enough at the prescription, the wrong dosage could be supplied. Too little medication may not have the needed effect to cure or manage the illness. Too much medication could result in an immediate or future overdose.
- Inaccurate instructions. Instructions on how to take a medication and how much of the medication to take are essential to the safety and efficacy of the drug. Inaccurate instructions could prove fatal.
- Wrong person. Strangers who have similar names or dates of birth could end up with the wrong person’s medication. Family members in the same household could be given another family member’s prescription by mistake.
- Wrong warning label. Warning labels are important because they tell the patient which side effects need medical attention. They also let the person taking the medication know if it’s safe to drive or operate heavy machinery. Injury or death can occur if these instructions aren’t provided to the patient.
- Drug interactions. A patient may have different doctors prescribing medications for other ailments. The pharmacist who isn’t paying proper attention could miss that the drug prescribed isn’t safe to take another medication the patient is already using.
Mistakes and Negligence
Is a mistake negligence? Yes. Negligence doesn’t mean that there is malicious intent. To be negligent means that the person failed to carry out their duties properly. They may have had wonderful intentions, but the mistake they made is because they weren’t careful enough.
Legal Recourse
Pharmacists and pharmacies are bound by strict regulations. Standards and procedures must be following to minimize the risk of errors. If you believe that yourself, or someone you love, may have sustained an injury due to a pharmacy error, it’s important to act quickly. There are statutes of limitation that could apply.
It’s important to hold accountable the people and company responsible for the error to protect other people they may harm in the future. The attorneys at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy will assemble a team of experts to investigate and prove your claim, so you can receive the compensation you deserve. Schedule a free consultation to learn what your rights are.