FAQ’s Involving Pharmacy Error Cases

All healthcare providers have a duty to use accepted standards of care when diagnosing and treating patients. When prescribing medications, doctors are required to take reasonable steps to keep patients safe such as asking about their current medications and allergies. Likewise, pharmacists are required to exercise reasonable diligence when filling prescriptions. When a medication error causes an injury or death to a patient, the at-fault provider and/or their employer may be held liable for the resulting damages.

At Donaldson & Weston, we’ve seen firsthand the immense suffering that patients and their families can endure as a result of medical negligence. Our Hobe Sound pharmacy error lawyers can help you gather evidence and fight for the full compensation you deserve. We accept cases involving:

Prescribing or Dispensing the Wrong Dosage: It doesn’t always take a major dosage error to cause serious complications. Depending on the specific drug and your condition, a small error in the dosage could be enough to cause unintended side effects. In some cases, those side effects can be fatal or result in permanent disability.

Failing to Account for a Patient’s Current Medications: There’s a reason why patient intake forms ask about current medications and supplements; some drugs can have adverse interactions with even the most popular over-the-counter medicines. When doctors fail to consider dangerous drug interactions, it’s the patient who ultimately pays the price.

Failing to Account for a Patient’s Allergies: Many people are allergic to antibiotics, sulfa drugs, and NSAIDs. Some patients have uncommon allergies that must be considered before taking certain medications. Doctors are required to account for a patient’s allergies before writing prescriptions, and they might be held liable for damages if they fail to do so.

Mixing up the Names of Two Patients or Drugs: More than 4 billion prescriptions are filled each year in the United States. That means there are billions of chances for a pharmacist to mix up the names of two patients or two drugs. This is a common error—especially when patients or drugs have similar names—and it can have tragic consequences.

Not Providing Adequate Instructions: Some drugs should be taken before meals, others after meals. Some drugs should be taken at specific times of the day. If a patient isn’t given the proper instructions for taking a medication, he or she may suffer unintended side effects.

Dispensing Expired Drugs: If you found out that the medication you received was expired, you may have grounds for a claim against the pharmacist who filled the prescription as well as his or her employer.

Not Following up About an Unclear Prescription: When a pharmacist can’t read the name of a drug or the dosage amount, he or she is required to follow up with the doctor before dispensing the medication. Failure to do so could be considered a breach of the duty of care owed to the patient.

Other Kinds of Pharmacy Error Cases: There are countless ways that the negligence of a pharmacist, doctor, or medical facility could harm a patient. Our Hobe Sound pharmacy error attorneys are proud to help injured patients and their families fight for the compensation they deserve.