Prescription Error

Prescription errors and pharmacy errors in Miami and across South Florida cause serious injuries each year. These types of errors can result in overdosing, under dosing, severe allergic reactions, and drug interactions. In some cases, patients face extended hospital stays or end up suffering fatal injuries due to taking the incorrect medication.

Prescription errors are a serious issue because there are so many federal laws and rules surrounding the correct marketing, testing, and dispensing of prescription drugs. Pharmacists and doctors must adhere to a number of guidelines and best practices to ensure that patients stay safe when taking medications that are considered to have serious side effects. When doctors and pharmacists fail to use caution and their recklessness leads to patient injury, patients have recourse under the law. In some cases, they can pursue a medical malpractice claim in Miami or their community or another type of legal claim in order to recover compensation for medical costs, lost income, and other expenses. To learn more, you can always contact the Flaxman Law Group legal team for a free case evaluation.

Prescription errors can include:

• defective medications
• incorrect dosage
• wrong medications
• allergic reactions
• lack of monitoring of a patient’s history
• pharmacy errors
• illegible prescriptions
• incorrect drug therapies
• incorrect or negligent off-label use of drugs

In many cases, prescription errors can result from negligence, lack of proper checks, or poor communication. For example, when pharmacists miss read a prescription or when a doctor inadvertently fills out a prescription incorrectly, injury can occur. Both doctors and pharmacists have an obligation to provide the correct prescription information. Doctors are expected to double check patient allergies, possible drug interactions, correct dosages, and the correct drugs prescribed for a treatment. Pharmacists, however, have an obligation to check any unclear prescriptions and to verify any potential errors on prescriptions. Drug manufacturers, too, have an obligation to test their products and to carefully delineate any possible allergic reactions and drug interactions.

Prescription error cases can involve multiple liable parties, including:

• the pharmacy
• the drug manufacturer
• the doctor
• the hospital or medical facility where the prescription was written

Some situations are medical malpractice claims because the manufacturer is at fault. The drug manufacturer may not have carefully tested their product or clearly outlined the risks of using the product. In some cases, the doctor may be held partly liable if he or she failed to clearly write up the prescription, check patient information, or confirm that the drug was the correct drug for the treatment in question. Doctors and hospitals may also be held liable if a drug causes a serious interaction after being used in an off label manner. In cases where an experimental drug is used, doctors have a greater obligation to secure the informed consent of the patient and if they fail to do this they may be held partly liable for any injuries that result. Pharmacies may be held liable if they dispense the wrong medication or make other errors in dispensing medication.

If you have been injured by pharmacy error or medication error in Miami or your community, you can always contact the Flaxman Law Group legal team for a free accident consultation. Your case may be worth more than you realize and you may be entitled to compensation. The Flaxman Law Group can help take the guesswork out of your situation and can help explain your legal options.