Pharmacy Error
Every year, over 1.3 million people are injured by some sort of pharmaceutical error and close to another 100,000 more die from this form of medical malpractice. Those numbers aside, pharmacy mistakes also cost anywhere from $29 to $72 billion dollars each year. Clearly, this easily avoided form of medical malpractice is an extremely detrimental, nationwide issue.
What is pharmacy error?
The term “pharmacy error” is used to describe any mistake made in the distribution of medication to a patient. These mishaps may include dosage or drug errors. When a patient is given the wrong dosage, he or she may see a delay in treatment if the amount of medication ingested is too low to remedy the situation. On the other hand, an error instructing the patient to take too high a dosage may result in overdosing.
If the patient is given the wrong medication, he or she is liable to experience poor reactions to the drug. If the victim is allergic to the medicine, then the results could be extremely damaging. The wrong drug may also do nothing to help the patient’s current health situation, and therefore he or she may see a delay in treatment.
Why do pharmacy errors occur?
There are a number of reasons why a patient may become a victim of pharmacy error. These mistakes typically arise as a result of negligent behavior on behalf of either the physician or the pharmacist. Pharmaceutical errors may occur from the following:
- Doctor error
- Miscommunications or illegibly written prescriptions
- Mistakes related to time pressures
- Reliance on undertrained technicians
- Understaffing
- Misreading labels
- Lack or regulations or protocol
Contact Us
If you or someone you love has been injured by a pharmacy error, then you may have the right to claim damages from the responsible party. Contact the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. today at 610-667-7511 to schedule a consultation with one of our qualified attorneys.