Medication is often key in treating and alleviating health conditions. However, when a doctor or healthcare professional makes a medication error, the medicine that is supposed to help a patient might harm – or even kill – a patient. If you find yourself harmed because of a drug error, speak with us about filing a claim for damages.
Types of Medication Errors
Medication errors are not limited to simply prescribing the wrong type of medication. The following are other examples of medication errors.
- Prescribing a medication that causes an allergic reaction.
- Administering medication to the wrong part of the body.
- Prescribing medications that result in a dangerous drug interaction.
- Prescribing or administering the wrong dosage amount.
- Administering too much or too little anesthesia.
- Causing a drug overdose as a result of too much medication.
- The incorrect medication or dosage filled by pharmacist.
These are just a few examples. Other actions might also lead to errors that cause serious harm to the patient.
Causes of Medication Errors
Medication errors are made for a variety of reasons. For example, a mix-up at the pharmacy may be related to illegible physician handwriting on the prescription note. Medication errors may also be made by the following.
- Miscalculations
- A lack of proper patient assessment
- Communication errors between doctors or healthcare staff
- Neglect
- Using improper medication abbreviations
In fact, the latter is so prevalent that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched a campaign to eliminate the use of unclear and ambiguous medical abbreviations.
Many medication errors are avoidable and when they occur they may occur because of negligent behavior. As such, our medication errors attorneys in New York can help you establish negligence and fault in a medication error case to hold the responsible party liable.
Who’s liable for a medication error?
If a medication error has caused you physical harm or has resulted in the death of a loved one, explore which party may be responsible. If the medication error was caused by a healthcare professional’s negligence – or failure to take the necessary reasonable actions to prevent a medication error from occurring – then the healthcare professional or hospital may be liable for your injuries and losses.
A pharmacist or pharmacy may also be liable if the error is related to a mistake on the pharmacist’s part, such as filling the wrong dose of medication. If a healthcare professional, hospital, pharmacy, or other party is found to have acted negligently, you may be able to recover damages in one or more of the following forms.
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship
Speak with Our Lawyers Today
An attorney can provide you with more information about how to prove negligence, what documents you’ll need to file your claim, and the types of damages you may be able to recover. Furthermore, an attorney can explain to you the complexities of medical malpractice law, and help you to build a successful case.
The medication errors attorneys in New York at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C. know how frustrating and emotionally traumatizing a medication error can be. If you’ve been the victim of a medication error, or if you’ve lost a loved one to a medication error, our attorneys can provide you with the legal help that you need to recover damages you’ve suffered. To begin filing your claim today, call us now at 800-550-0000 or fill out the form on our contact page to set up your consultation.
