The Annapolis Lawyers at Hyatt & Weber Injury Law Take Prescription Errors Very Seriously
More than 1.5 million people in the United States are victims of prescription errors. In fact, prescription errors are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans each year.
Prescription error malpractice may involve every type of healthcare professional, from treating physicians, emergency room physicians, nurses, hospitals, pharmacists, drug manufacturers, and other medical personnel. Medication errors can occur when:
- The wrong drug is prescribed to a patient due to misdiagnosis or a misunderstanding of a diagnosis by a medical healthcare professional.
- The wrong dosage of the right medicine is prescribed or administered.
- The patient receives medication for which the patient is allergic.
- The patient receives a wrong combination of drugs, causing adverse effects on his/her health.
The most common medication errors involve patients who receive improper dosage of medication. This error occurs when a pharmacist misreads the physician’s handwriting on a prescription pad or attaches the wrong dosage label to a prescription, a nurse records a doctor’s orders incorrectly, a drug manufacturing error occurs, or equipment such as a PCA pump malfunctions and releases improper amounts of medication.
Medical negligence cases also stem from a physician’s failure to prescribe the correct medication. Healthcare professionals may prescribe medications that are ineffective to at combatting a patient’s illness, either due to misdiagnosing this illness or due to a lack of knowledge of this particular illness. A nurse may also incorrectly record a physician’s medication orders, a pharmacist may misread a physician’s prescription note and fill the prescription incorrectly, or a drug manufacturer may have incorrect packaging and labeling. All of these scenarios can cause a patient to suffer damages due to prescription error.
When a medical health professional fails to gather important medical history of the patient, serious prescription errors may occur. A healthcare provider may prescribe medication for which a patient is allergic or which conflicts with another prescription the patient is already taking. These mistakes can cause serious, permanent damage.
If you suspect that you or someone in your family has suffered personal injury, or wrongful death, due to a prescription error in Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County, or anywhere else in Maryland, the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Baltimore-based Hyatt & Weber Injury Law can provide you with a complimentary evaluation of your case to assess what went wrong, determine whether the healthcare providers involved could or should have acted differently, and figure out whether you are entitled to receive compensation for any damages caused by the healthcare provider’s negligence. Our attorneys are dedicated to a thorough investigation of all medical evidence and cater our representation to the unique needs of each client’s individual circumstances. Please call us today at 866-590-8719 or fill out our contact form to schedule a consultation at our Annapolis or Baltimore office.
