Medical malpractice cases are complex both from a legal and medical point of view. They are long-drawn, highly technical in nature, and require expert testimonies to validate your stand. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or have had your health compromised due to negligence or carelessness of a healthcare professional, you have every right to sue for medical malpractice.

Faulty treatment is one of the biggest causes behind medical malpractice lawsuits. This also includes wrongly prescribed or administered medicines, which can lead to serious consequences like severe allergic reactions or even death.

Prescription drug errors need to be dealt with as soon and as effectively as possible. If you suspect an error in your prescription, contact your physician and pharmacist as early as possible to rectify the issue. If you have suffered harm as a result of the error, it will be best to contact a malpractice attorney to explore how you can get justice.

Here are a few things that you need to know about a prescription drug error lawsuit.

What Is a Prescription Drug Error?

Prescription drug errors occur when the medicine prescribed does harm to the patient. This can happen under a range of circumstances.

To file a claim for prescription drug error, you must be able to prove that there was negligence on the part of the defendant. To prove negligence, you must be able to show that the doctor did not exercise the level of skill or care that a competent healthcare professional practicing in the same field and sub-specialty will typically exhibit under similar circumstances.

Administering or prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing wrong dosages of medicines, medicines that will adversely react with other medicines the patient is taking, or those that the patient is allergic to, are all considered prescription drug errors. Failure to warn the patient of possible side-effects of a medicine can also have dangerous consequences. Sometimes, medicines are mislabeled either at the manufacturing facility, by the retailer, or at the pharmacy. In such situations, product liability lawsuits will be brought against the manufacturer or retailer, and medical malpractice lawsuits will be filed against the pharmacist.

What are Causal Factors?

To prove medical malpractice, you have to first prove medical negligence and breach of duty owed to the patient. Breach of duty occurs when the doctor did not provide the standard of care that the patient could reasonably expect from a similarly qualified professional. But, proof of negligence alone is not enough to win a medical malpractice case. The patient must also have suffered injury or harm as a result of the negligence. The causal link between negligence and injury is essential for malpractice to take place. If there is negligence but no injury, or vice versa, then you cannot prove medical malpractice.

Who is Liable in Prescription Drug Error Lawsuits?

Who the defendants are in a prescription error case depends on the type of error committed.

Administering Wrong Medicine or Dosage

Sometimes, a physician makes the right diagnosis of a patient’s condition, but prescribes the wrong medication. As a result, the patient’s condition worsens and develops complications. Sometimes, this can even prove fatal, resulting in permanent disability or death.

The same applies to prescription errors in dosages also. Errors are made by nurses, pharmacists, or doctors while administering medicines that cause the patient to get too much or too little of the required dosage. When the negligence is committed by nurses or allied health professionals, you will have to sue the hospital or the healthcare facility where you received treatment, and the nurse will also be held liable.

Physicians also have to ensure that their prescriptions are legible and leave no room for error or misinterpretation on the part of pharmacists or nurses. Thankfully, with the widespread adoption of electronic record management systems, prescriptions are usually computer-generated and convenient.

Administering Medicines in the Wrong Manner

Different medicines need to be administered differently. Giving an injection in the wrong part of the body can lead to complicated medical problems in patients. There are specific medicines that need to be administered into muscles or directly into bloodstream, and doing this in the wrong manner can prove that the nurse or physician has been negligent.

Mislabeling Medicines

This is another error that can lead to dangerous complications. Mislabeling can occur before the product leaves the manufacturing facility or retail outlet, or at the pharmacy. In the former instance, you will have to file a product liability lawsuit; in the latter instance, a medical malpractice lawsuit should be filed.

Prescribing Harmful Medications

Sometimes, doctors prescribe medicines that you are allergic to, or that may cause an adverse reaction with other medicines that you are taking. It is usually the duty of your pharmacist to maintain and keep track of your medical records, and point out when you are prescribed wrong medicines. If you suffer harm or injury due to intake of harmful medicines, it is usually the pharmacist who is held liable in the medical malpractice lawsuit, although ideally your physician should also have checked your medical history and records before prescribing treatment.

Remember that you need to stick to a single pharmacy and use them for all your prescriptions. In this manner, they will be able to warn you and your physician of any conflicting medications.

Also, it is the duty of the physician to warn you of potential serious side-effects from prescriptions, though pharmacists are also expected to perform this function.

Prescription drug errors are not uncommon and can take place anywhere in the entire medication chain. As soon as you are sure that you or a loved one has been a victim of prescription drug error, it is important that you consult with a prescription drug error attorney as soon as possible and evaluate the best options before you.

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