A report by Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions indicates that approximately 66 million prescription errors were made by pharmacies when dispensing drugs in 2009. If you believe that you or a loved one has been injured by a pharmacist error in Aurora, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses in a wrong medication medical malpractice claim.
A pharmacist error in Aurora may occur as a result of many different types of mistakes. However, it is estimated that 9 out of 10 prescription errors are preventable. Failure to exercise the expected level of due care required by a pharmacist constitutes medical malpractice under the law.
Pharmacist Liability
All pharmacists are medical care providers under the tort law governing medical malpractice cases. As such, your pharmacist must be highly trained and very well educated in the profession of drug dispensing.
If a pharmacist makes a preventable error in filling your prescription which results in harm and injury to you, you can seek to remedy your damages through a wrong medication medical malpractice claim and/or lawsuit.
Some causes known to give rise to pharmacist error in Aurora are:
- Illegible handwriting on prescription pads;
- Filling the wrong drug because names are so similar;
- Relying on technicians to fill prescriptions;
- Overworked pharmacists (distracted by other retail duties);
- Failure to provide current drug warnings on labels;
- Improper dilution of concentrated drugs; and
- Failure to determine other medications with adverse interactions.
Typical Injuries From Pharmacist Error
Unfortunately, there are numerous injuries that a victim can suffer because of a pharmacist error in Aurora. Some of these injuries include:
- Overdose;
- Worsening of targeted condition;
- Skin allergies;
- Seizures;
- Temporary physical impairment;
- Temporary mental impairment;
- Brain damage;
- Digestive system injury;
- Suicidal thoughts/attempts; and
- Death.
This list is by no means exhaustive. If you believe you have suffered injury because you received the wrong drug due to a pharmacist error in Aurora, contact an Aurora prescription error lawyer who can speak to you about your options for legal recourse.
Proving that a pharmacy error occurred and making a case for medical negligence can be a difficult task without an Aurora prescription error lawyer.
Building a Pharmacist Error Medical Malpractice Claim
You may need to gather your hospital discharge instructions, original prescription, received prescription, and other essential documentation such as your medical history in order to prove that a pharmacist error in Aurora occurred and that you were injured as a result.
Your Aurora prescription error lawyer should also be highly knowledgeable on the most commonly confused drug names. Currently, Pharmacopeia lists 1,500 drugs which have names similar to one or more other drugs and are often wrongfully filled.
The pharmaceutical industry is constantly developing new drugs to meet market needs and maximize profits, and this is part of the problem in hastily naming a new drug with nearly the same spelling as an existing one.
When you take the wrong medication because of a pharmacist error in Aurora, you should immediately see your doctor to redirect your treatment with the correct medicine if possible.
Your Aurora prescription error lawyer will talk with your doctor to determine what effect the wrong medication had on you, and on your original prognosis.
Pharmacy/Pharmacist Error in Aurora
In cases where a pharmacist error occurs as the result of wrongful preparation of the drug, serious injury and consequences to your health are often the outcome.
Wrongful preparation occurs when the drug manufacturer ships the drug in a highly concentrated form, and the pharmacist must dilute the drug according to exact specifications.
If the drug is not properly diluted, and is then dispensed, you may overdose and suffer severe and painful injury.
Wrongful preparation also occurs because the pharmacist is responsible for typing up your prescription instructions and labels. These include printing out the correct and most current warning labels for your medication.
Sometimes, a pharmacist might move a decimal place, or misread the prescription strength as written by your doctor.
This can lead to either overdose, or under-dose of your medication. If the patient takes too little of a prescribed drug to treat an aggressive or advanced condition, the consequences can be enormous, and may even lead to death.
Contacting an Aurora Prescription Error Lawyer
If you or a family member have been seriously injured by pharmacist error, you have the legal right to hold the pharmacy accountable for the physical and emotional damages you suffered.
The Aurora prescription error lawyers at the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. understand the complex legalities of medical malpractice cases in the Chicago area. Let us help defend your legal rights to seek just compensation for your pain and suffering caused by your pharmacist error injury. We can build a strong pharmacist error medical malpractice case and give you a voice against the vast resources of a pharmacy corporation or malpractice insurance company.
Contact us today for a FREE case evaluation on your pharmacist error medical malpractice claim: 1-312-263-1080.
