Medication Errors

Every year, 30 million cases of pharmacy errors occur in outpatient pharmacies in the U.S., according to the National Patient Safety Foundation. Some errors are slight, but some mistakes lead to significant injury or death.

If you or a loved one has been injured or has died as a result of a pharmacy error, a dedicated medical malpractice attorney could help you seek compensation. Contact an Atlanta prescription error lawyer from Childers, Schlueter & Smith for a free legal consultation to learn more about your legal rights and options.

Pharmacists’ Responsibility to You

Pharmacists are responsible for furnishing the correct medication in accordance with doctors’ prescriptions. Prescriptions are vital to patients’ healthcare, and pharmacy mistakes can result in serious harm or even death.

Pharmacist errors usually involve one or both of the following issues:

• Incorrect medication
• Incorrect dosage

Incorrect Medication Health Risks

When pharmacists dispense the wrong medication, a variety of health risks can result, including:

• Failure to treat the patient’s condition
• Onset of a condition caused by the wrong medicine
• Allergic reaction
• Dangerous interaction with other medicines
• Death

Incorrect Dosage Mistakes

Even a dosage difference of a few milligrams may harm a patient, depending on the drug. Painkiller overdose, for instance, is often fatal. Dosage mistakes can result from:

• Incorrect amount of a drug being dispensed
• Incorrect dosage instructions, such as advice to take a drug “as needed” when in fact it requires doses at specific times

If you suffered harm due to any of these pharmaceutical errors, it could be beneficial to consult an attorney in Atlanta.

Potential Pharmacy Mistakes

There are many reasons pharmacists or pharmacist techs make errors, but none excuse the harm you may suffer as a result. If your pharmacist issued an incorrect prescription, the wrong dosage, or dose usage instructions, you may be entitled to compensation. Documenting the possible reason for prescription drug errors may aid in our lawyers’ investigation into your claim. Possible causes of error include:

• Accidental error
• Misreading the prescription
• Improperly entering prescription into the computer, or not entering it at all
• Confusing similar drug names
• Choosing the wrong medicine
• Stocking the pharmacy or hospital shelves or drawers incorrectly
• Pharmacists not double-checking the work of pharmacy technicians
• Incorrectly advising patients on drug usage – either verbally or on the instruction label
• Failing to offer legally mandated face-to-face counseling with the pharmacist for patients with new prescriptions
• Not checking the patient’s history for possible drug interactions
• Poorly managing the pharmacy, resulting in long shifts without breaks or under-qualified staff
• Keeping out-of-date patient information leaflets
• Poorly maintained pharmacy mixing machines
• Company incentives for maximizing speed or customer volume that encourage rushing and other dangerous behaviors

Pharmacists Should Pay for Negligence

Pharmacists receive extensive schooling to ensure they are capable of upholding the required standards of care. Precision is a key part of pharmacists’ training. When pharmacists make mistakes – either through inattention, negligence, or oversight – they must be held accountable for the harm the errors cause.

Patients should be able to trust that pharmacists will dispense their prescriptions exactly as doctors order. If a doctor writes a prescription that is unclear, it is the pharmacist’s duty to contact the physician who wrote it and ensure the correct administration of the drug.

Contact Our Experienced Atlanta Georgia Personal Injury Team

If you have suffered harm from a pharmacy error, you may be entitled to compensation. The experienced injury attorneys of Childers, Schlueter & Smith can file a malpractice suit on your behalf against your pharmacy and/or pharmacist and work tirelessly to achieve the maximum compensation for you.

If you have been injured by pharmacy error, we are determined to obtain justice on your behalf. Contact an Atlanta prescription error lawyer today to begin the process of filing your claim.