Who Is Responsible for Injuries Resulting from Medication Errors?
Prescription medications are fairly common in households throughout the country. It is in the nature of most people to trust their doctor’s opinions in terms of their health, including what medications they may need to take. Unfortunately, mistakes involving the prescription and administration of medications do happen and they can result in severe injuries for the patient. Pharmaceutical errors are often linked to medical malpractice and patients who have been harmed by such negligence should be able to hold negligent parties accountable.
How Do Medication Errors Happen?
Errors related to prescription medications are typically associated with human error in some form. While some issues may arise from lack of attentiveness, others may be a result of poor communication. Whatever the true root of the error is, administering and prescribing medication incorrectly can potentially lead to very serious consequences.
It is possible for patients to be given the wrong medication or the wrong dosage of a medication. In some cases, doctors make miscalculations in terms of dosage, which puts the patient at risk of overdose. Medication errors of this sort may also be caused simply by human error when writing or reading the correct amount of medication.
Mislabeling medication also has the potential to do serious harm to consumers. This may result in the patient receiving an incorrect dosage or the wrong medication altogether. To determine liability in this case, it must be determined whether the error occurred at the manufacturing level or at the pharmacy.
When medical professionals fail to take into account a patient’s pre-existing conditions, such as allergies, age, and weight, a medication may have a severe effect on a patient. Similarly, if a healthcare provider does not consider what other medications the patient is on, administering specific drugs may be harmful. It is the medical professional's responsibility to keep a track record of their patients’ allergies and medications, failure of which may lead to patient injury or death.
It is also the healthcare provider’s responsibility to adequately inform the patient of any possible side effects the drug may cause. If there are common symptoms experienced after taking the or if they need to avoid eating or drinking certain things while taking the medication, it is the job of the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist to properly warn them.
Contact Our Aurora, IL Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
Healthcare providers work with, prescribe, and administer medications every day, however, negligence continues to play a role in patients suffering from medication errors. Drug-based errors can have long term consequences to a patient’s health and are often a result of medical malpractice. If you or a loved one have been harmed due to a medical professional’s negligent behavior, you may be eligible for compensation. The Kane County personal injury attorneys with Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C. can investigate your case and collect evidence to help you recover any available damages. Contact our firm today to set up a free consultation by calling 630-907-0909.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/medication-errors/art-20048035
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/types-and-causes-prescription-medication-errors
