Some pills are tablets, some are capsules, and while they come in different shapes and colors, most people outside the medical field have no concept of how to tell them apart. Because of this, we rely on pharmaceutical manufacturers to properly formulate their medication, we rely on doctors to prescribe the proper drug, and we rely on pharmacists to fill the prescription correctly. If there are errors at any of these steps, people can be seriously injured by medication errors.
If you or a loved one suffered injury or adverse health effects because you were given the wrong medication, call the Baltimore medication error and wrong prescription lawyers at Bennett and Heyman today. Our attorneys offer free legal consultations to help you understand who is potentially responsible for the injuries you suffered and how you can file a lawsuit to recover financial compensation for the harm you suffered. For a free legal consultation, call our lawyers today at (410) 429-7856.
Whom to Sue for Prescription Medication Errors in Maryland
Pharmaceutical companies manufacture medication and distribute it to pharmacies where you can take a prescription from your physician to have it filled. At each of these steps, there is the potential for errors that could affect what drug you ultimately receive, potentially leading to harm if the drug is the wrong drug or the wrong dosage.
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Pharmaceutical companies formulate the drugs and the labelling, then package the drugs and ship them to pharmacies. If there are any errors made in the formulation, such as if the drug is made too strong, this will end up in the final product the consumer receives. Additionally, if drugs are mislabeled or mixed up by a serious flaw in the manufacturing process, this will also mean the final product will likely be the wrong drug.
Pharmacies
Whether your pharmacy is an independent company or is part of your hospital or doctor’s office, they receive drugs from the manufacturers and typically bottle your medication according to the doctor’s order. The information the pharmacist has typically only includes the patient’s name and the doctor’s prescription. They may also have a list of other prescriptions the patient is currently taking if they were filled there.
If the pharmacist fills the wrong prescription, the wrong dosage, or medication that interferes with another medication you take, these errors may be the pharmacy’s fault. Even if the pharmacist follows the prescription exactly, they may still be responsible if the prescription appeared problematic but they filled it anyway.
Doctors
From the patient’s perspective, the prescription starts with the doctor. The doctor has the choice of what drug to prescribe, what dosage to order, and how to tell you to take the drug. This means that they could make an error by prescribing the wrong drug entirely, ordering a dosage that is too low to help or too high that it harms you, or telling you to take the drug on a schedule that would put too much of the drug in your system at once.
If the doctor prescribes a drug that the doctor should have known would harm you, the doctor may also be responsible. The doctor should have your medical records and should be able to check if you have any allergies or are on any other medications that would interfere with the drug or cause harmful effects. Unless the medication was given to you in an emergency, your doctor should check these interactions before prescribing you anything. If the doctor makes any errors in prescribing or has a mental lapse and orders the wrong drug entirely, you could face serious harm.
Injuries from Pharmaceutical Errors
All prescription medication can be harmful if given in the wrong amount, and many effects of medication are dangerous if you do not have the medical condition or illness that the drug is intended to treat. In addition, if you are taking the wrong medication, your underlying condition or illness goes untreated and could get worse.
If the medication you receive is wrong and you unknowingly take it, you could face any intended effects or side-effects of the medication. Many of these effects include increased risk of other illness, which you should not have to face unless you really need the medication. Any harms that arise from this kind of error should be compensated.
If the drug causes an allergic reaction or interferes with another drug, you could face more serious harm. An allergic reaction to medication can include serious consequences like trouble breathing or even a stroke or heart attack. If the drug interferes with medication you are already taking, it may cancel its effects and leave you vulnerable to whatever effects that drug prevented, e.g., hypertension, stroke, or heart attack. It may also cause serious effects like seizures or stroke.
If the drug you receive is wrong and you do not gain its therapeutic effects, the at-fault party is responsible for your condition worsening. If you had received the proper medication, you could be on the path to recovery, but continuing to face negative health effects or allowing an illness to get worse can result in damages you can claim in court.
If the medication errors resulted in an overdose, you could face liver and kidney damage, stroke, heart attack, or even death. These damages can be substantial, especially for the surviving families of people who died because of prescription errors.
Call Our Baltimore Medication Error and Wrong Prescription Attorneys for a Free Legal Consultation
If you or a loved one suffered adverse health effects or complications because you were given the wrong prescription, call the Baltimore medication error and wrong prescription attorneys at Bennett and Heyman today. Our lawyers offer free legal consultations to help you understand the harm you faced and how you can receive financial compensation by filing a lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company, the pharmacy, or the doctor who was responsible for your injuries. For a free consultation, call us today at (410) 429-7856.
