What Constitutes a Medication or Prescription Error?
Not all conditions require surgery, with some symptoms being lessened through the use of medication. Medications offer numerous benefits, helping to ease symptoms and prevent further disease progression, all while providing patients with a better quality of life. Alarmingly, approximately 1.5 million people in the United States are harmed by medication errors each year. Of these, about 7,000 to 9,000 persons experience fatal consequences. The effects of a medication error can be utterly devastating, especially when many of these errors are preventable.
If you or a loved one has been subject to a medication or prescription error, our medication error attorneys in South Carolina are here to help you get maximum compensation for your claim.
Examples of Medication or Prescription Errors
A medication or prescription error occurs when the wrong medication or dose is prescribed or dispensed to a patient. Since multiple parties may be involved in the process, any of the following medication errors may result:
Wrong Medication is Prescribed or Dispensed
This may occur if a physician prescribes the wrong medication or a pharmacist has trouble reading a provider’s handwritten prescription and dispenses the wrong medication.
Pharmacy Mixes Up Prescriptions
A pharmacy staff member may switch two customers’ prescriptions, causing serious health implications.
Pharmacist Fills the Wrong Prescription
A pharmacist may place the wrong pills in a correctly labeled prescription bottle. While many prescription labels provide a brief description of what the medication looks like, not all do.
Wrong Dosage
An incorrect dosage may be dispensed by a pharmacist, resulting in serious health issues. While a medication dosage that is too little will not effectively treat a person’s condition, an overdose could lead to respiratory distress and/or heart failure.
Failure to Administer
Due to understaffing or inadequately trained hospital staff, a patient may fail to get life-saving medication.
Failure to Account for Drug Interactions
By providing your current medication list to your treating provider, they can check for potential interactions between drugs. Unfortunately, a practitioner or pharmacist may fail to account for dangerous side effects between drugs. While not all contraindications are serious, some can cause serious and even permanent damage.
Pinpointing Liability in a Medication or Prescription Error Malpractice Suit
Identifying where the error occurred between the prescribing and dispensing of a drug can be cumbersome. Medication errors can seem trivial, but even taking a slightly wrong dose can have a large impact on your health. Thankfully, a medication error lawyer can assess your situation to investigate where the error likely took place. Our legal team works closely with highly esteemed medical professionals to pinpoint the breakdown in the system. By identifying what went wrong, we can help others to avoid the same devastation.
Medication Error Attorney Serving South Carolina
At Parham Smith & Archenhold, LLC, our medication error lawyers are dedicated to helping families pursue justice. If you or a loved one has recently been harmed due to a medication error, our legal team would like to assist you in filing your claim. To learn about your legal options, our experienced legal professionals can be reached online or by phone at (864) 432-1796 today.