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Prescription Error Lawyer in Covington and Cincinnati

Medication errors and pharmacy errors can lead to permanent injury or death. Negligent doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and anesthesiologists can cause injuries or death through overmedication, under medication, or a fatal combination of medications.

At TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm, we are experienced in helping victims of medication and pharmacy errors across Kentucky and Ohio. Our Cincinnati and Covington personal injury lawyers have more than 50 years of experience helping victims and their families recover the compensation they deserve for their injuries. In addition to medication error cases, our personal injury lawyers also cover a range of practice areas involving medical malpractice and birth injuries. Contact a prescription error lawyer at TLF today to get started on building your case. You can reach us at 800-698-4054 or fill out our online intake form to schedule your free consultation. 

Pharmacy Error Malpractice Attorneys in Ohio and Kentucky

What is a Pharmacy Error?

Pharmacists have a critical job in patient care and recovery. Prescription medications can relieve symptoms and cure diseases when properly administered, but any misstep can lead to permanent injury and even wrongful death. According to the National Library of Medicine, medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people every year, making it one of the most common medical errors. What’s more, between 7,000 and 9,000 Americans die every year from medication errors. 

A medication or prescription drug error is a preventable mistake that can lead to irreversible patient harm. This includes anytime a medication is prescribed, dispensed, administered, or ordered incorrectly. The error can be the fault of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, or even anesthesiologists who make negligent anesthesia mistakes.  

How Do Medication Errors Happen?

At the end of the day, medical professionals are human beings who can make mistakes. However, because of the importance of their position, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and any professional healthcare worker must undergo extensive training and be extremely diligent in everything they do. There is a certain standard of care that must be met by these professionals, as things like medication errors result from any breach of duty of care.

More specifically, medication errors can result from misdiagnoses, poor charting, and poor communication. Distractions and even bad handwriting can also play a part in medication errors. Sometimes, physicians or nurses read the chart wrong, and pharmacists can make critical errors in filling the prescriptions they receive. Medication error-related injuries can also be a result of failure to check the background of a patient; overdoses and drug interactions can occur when patient history is not checked.  

Wrong Prescription

We’ve all seen a doctor write an illegible prescription and think “how in the world will the pharmacist know what it says?” Doctors often use a type of shorthand that trained pharmacists can read. This shorthand includes a lot of abbreviations that look similar. For example, QD means ‘once daily,’ but QID means four times a day. A simple mistake could mean that a patient receives four times the amount of the prescribed drug, which could easily result in an overdose. Oral prescriptions can also result in a similar-sounding drug being administered instead. 

Patient History

Knowing the patient’s medical history is an important part of patient care. If a healthcare professional fails to check patient history, they could prescribe a known allergen. A drug that has an interaction with current medicine could also be mistakenly prescribed.    

Patient Education Failure

Pharmacists and medical professionals have a duty to warn you about the risky side effects that medication could cause. Pharmacists also have a duty to tell you how the medication is administered, when to take it, and any drug interactions it may have. If a doctor or pharmacist failed to inform you of these risks, you may have a valid medical malpractice lawsuit on your hands.

Distractions

There are more than 6,000 prescription medications out there, and there are many more over-the-counter medications available in America. Medications can come in pill, liquid, or powder form and a variety of dosages. Healthcare professionals can be distracted by any aspect of their busy job. 75% of medication errors are caused by distractions. Distractions can lead to physicians mistaking certain drug names or writing the incorrect medication, the wrong dosage strength, or the wrong frequency.  

Medication Errors Malpractice Lawsuit

How Can a Medication or Pharmacy Error Affect Me?

Patients can be injured as a result of pharmacy malpractice, and in serious cases, medication errors can even have deadly consequences. Medication error cases are preventable, yet they affect millions of Americans every year. Incorrect prescriptions can lead to brain damage, organ failure, and death.

Allergic Reaction

10% of Americans are allergic to penicillin, a common antibiotic. If the nurse, doctor, or pharmacist fails to check the patient’s chart for penicillin or other allergies, this can result in the wrong medication being prescribed and administered to the patient. 

Drug Interaction

Many prescription drugs can have a dangerous interaction with other drugs, foods, and medical conditions. Someone with high blood pressure, for example, can have an adverse reaction to a decongestant commonly prescribed for a cold or flu.  

Complications

Certain medications or an incorrect dosage can cause serious health complications. For instance, a misplaced decimal can be the difference between symptom relief and seizures. Another example is prescribed medications during pregnancy, which can result in birth defects or birth injuries

Legal Implications of Medication Errors

When a healthcare provider administers or prescribes the wrong medication, the consequences can be severe, leading the medical professional and the patient to both suffer as a result. Depending on the details of the case, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists can lose their license to practice or lose their job. In severe cases, they can even have criminal charges brought against them. Legal action can also be taken against the provider in the form of a civil lawsuit. This can help the victim recover compensation for any injuries.  

Kentucky Prescription Error Lawyer

Can I Sue For Pharmacy Negligence?

As we previously mentioned, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals have a duty of care to their patients. Prescribing medication may be only one of their practice areas, but they have an important responsibility to check their work and ensure their patient’s safety. This personal injury matter can be the result of prescribing the wrong medication, administering the incorrect dosage, or missing information in the patient history.

Prescription errors are entirely preventable. If you or a loved one was prescribed the wrong medication or the wrong dose and sustained serious injuries or was killed as a result, you have legal options available to you. A Covington or Cincinnati personal injury lawyer at TLF can help you pursue a prescription medication error lawsuit. Get your attorney-client relationship started with a free case evaluation by contacting TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm today.

Compensation For Pharmacy Mistakes and Medication Errors

When medication errors occur, there can be significant damage to the patient. This can mean increased medical bills, time off work, and the anxiety of losing trust in your healthcare professional. That’s why our Ohio and Kentucky medication error attorneys are dedicated to exposing all liable parties and recovering the compensation our clients deserve.

The compensation for medication error lawsuits can differ from case to case, but our medical malpractice lawyers typically help recover compensation for:

  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Medical expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment in life
  • Loss of consortium
  • And more

Compensation for medical expenses and lost wages are only a part of what we fight for. If a loved one has lost their life to a medication error, our Kentucky and Ohio wrongful death attorneys can also help you pursue wrongful death damages.

Determining The Cause Of Prescription Error Claims

Litigation to prove medication errors requires a vast array of both medical and legal knowledge. As such, these lawsuits can be complex. Fortunately, at TLF, our experienced medical malpractice attorneys have a nurse on staff. We also work with other medical professionals and experts to help us build a strong argument for your case. If you have been injured by a medical error, overdose, or dangerous drug interaction, do not hesitate to contact our team of Covington and Cincinnati medical malpractice lawyers. We will work to recover maximum compensation for your injuries.

Who is Responsible for Medication Errors?

Patients have a reasonable expectation to receive proper care from a medical professional. When this care is violated, there can be severe consequences for the patient. You have legal rights if you have been injured as a result of medication error or pharmacy malpractice. An experienced medication error attorney will thoroughly investigate your case to find all liable parties.

Physicians and Nurses

Before prescribing a new prescription, your doctor should review your medical history to make sure there are no allergies or other drug interactions that could result in injury. Unfortunately, distractions and poor charting habits can make doctors skip this step of patient care.

Pharmacists

A pharmacist has a duty to check the patient’s chart for other medications being prescribed. They also need to inform the patient of any necessary information like side effects and dangerous interactions. If a doctor’s handwriting is illegible, the pharmacist has a duty to check with the doctor for the correct information.

Medical Malpractice Case for Wrong Medication

Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys at TLF: The Medical Injury Law Firm

Physician and pharmacy malpractice can result in severe injuries to a patient receiving medical care. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of pharmacy malpractice, our experienced medical injury attorneys can help you explore legal options. Call 800-698-4054 to schedule a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney from our firm tofay. You can also contact us online to find out more about the legal services we provide here at TLF.

Practice Areas

You Pay No Fees Unless We Win!

We are happy to offer a free consultation to evaluate your case. If you hire us as your legal counsel, we will represent you on a contingency-fee basis. You will pay no attorneys’ fees unless we recover financial damages.