Representing Victims of Medication and Pharmacy Errors
More than 100,000 Americans die each year of adverse drug reactions, according to a landmark report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This makes such reactions one of the six leading causes of death in the U.S. No one knows how many of those deaths are the result of errors in prescribing or dispensing drugs, but observers say pharmacy mistakes may play a role. When researchers analyzed 9,846 prescriptions filled at a large hospital's outpatient pharmacy in Springfield, New Jersey, for example, they found 1,371 mistakes, ranging from bottles containing the wrong pills or the wrong dosage to labeling errors. In other words, mistakes were made in roughly one in eight of the prescriptions.
Neither the federal government nor 46 of the 50 states have any law requiring that drug stores report prescription errors, even in cases involving serious injury or death. While some fear there is an unreported epidemic of pharmacy errors, there are no reliable figures to gauge the scope of the problem. The bottom line, though, is that statistics can give you the numbers, but they can’t tell you the stories of the people involved: their daily struggles to survive and overcome their injuries, the pain they experience, the stress on them and their families, and the strain on their finances.
When you suffer a serious injury because of a medication or pharmacy error, it is important to learn what your rights are and what legal remedies may be available to you. Contact the experienced medication error attorneys at Ross Law Group, who know how to evaluate the legal liabilities of all of the parties involved and help you achieve the maximum recovery available from each liable party.
If you are the parent, spouse or family member of a person who has suffered a serious injury because of pharmacy or medical negligence and can’t act for him or herself, you need to act quickly on their behalf. Valuable evidence can be lost or destroyed, or witnesses may forget important facts, if an investigation by your own counsel is delayed. Contact an Austin, Texas, personal injury attorney for a consultation as soon as possible after a serious injury occurs.
Catastrophic injuries to children are some of the most complex, difficult, and emotional. The attorneys of Ross Law Group have a lot of experience representing the parents of children who have suffered serious injuries. If your child has suffered a serious injury because of a pharmacy or other medication error, let us take care of your case while you take care of your child.
Pharmacists are skilled professionals delivering essential health care, but mistakes by pharmacists and other health care professionals occur with almost alarming frequency. According to The Quality of Health Care in America Project, established by the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine (IOM), errors committed within the health care system have significant impact on patient safety. Medication errors can occur anywhere within the system of drug prescribing, distribution, and administration, and may be due to a mistake by a pharmacist, physician, nurse, or other medical personnel.
The IOM report noted that deaths from medication errors increased 2.5-fold in inpatient settings between 1983 and 1993 and increased almost 8.5-fold in outpatient settings. Another study reported that U.S. fatalities from acknowledged prescription errors increased by 243% between 1983 and 1998 to almost 10,000. This percentage increase was greater than for almost any other cause of death and far outpaced the increase in the number of prescriptions.
Among physicians, the most common errors were inappropriate dosing, prescribing the wrong medication, and failure to monitor for side effects. In a long-term study at a teaching hospital, the most common types of prescribing errors were dosing errors, prescribing medications to which the patient was allergic, and prescribing inappropriate dosage forms. Data reported from U.S. hospitals indicate that 11% to 17% of medication errors were due to improper dispensing by the pharmacy.
Pharmacists’ errors can be described as either mechanical or judgmental. A mechanical error is an error in the preparation and processing of the prescription, while a judgmental error is one of discretion in counseling, screening, or patient drug monitoring. Mechanical errors include dispensing the wrong drug, dosage form, directions, quantity, or strength or dose. Judgmental errors include improper or no counseling, failure to detect drug interactions, and inadequate drug use review. The most common error reported is the selection of the wrong drug. While errors may not always have severe consequences, studies have concluded that up to 3% of dispensing errors by inpatient hospital pharmacies are potentially serious.
Many factors can lead to a pharmacy error: the almost illegible handwriting of the doctor, determining which drug or equivalent is covered under the patient’s insurance plan, the huge number of very different drugs with similar sounding names like Cerebyx, Celexa, and Celebrex, and keeping up with the pressure to fill as many as 30 prescriptions per hour.
Even with all that is commonly known about medication and pharmacy errors, proving liability is often easier said than done. Investigating the circumstances under which the mistake happened and proving who was at fault is the most critical aspect of your personal injury case. When there is a fight over liability, you need an experienced lawyer on your side.
Some medication errors cause only mild or temporary reactions with no lasting ill effects. Others can cause serious injury or even death. If you have been seriously injured, or are the parent, spouse or family member of someone who has been seriously injured or died due to a medication error, there are many reasons to contact an experienced Texas medication error injury attorney right away.
- First, it is likely that you will be contacted by the “risk management” department of the pharmacy or hospital that made the mistake, asking for recorded statements, authorizations for the release of your medical information, and other information. What you do and say at this critical time could affect the strength of your case. It is always better to have the advice of an attorney from the beginning.
- Second, the process of dealing with the physical and emotional trauma of a serious injury is intense. Our strategy from day one is to focus on your case, so you can focus on your recovery.
- Third, there are Statutes of Limitations that apply to personal injury cases. If you wait too long to take action, you will lose any right you may have to recover from liable parties.
Throughout the case, there are many things that we do for our clients.
For every personal injury client, Ross Law Group provides a review of your earnings history for the past three years, with an emphasis on making sure that all wages due to you under the FLSA were paid. This provides essential information for proving your lost wages, and if we discover that you have been underpaid, we can assist you with a wage claim.
Damages are the costs for treatment of injuries, lost wages and other economic losses, and the monetary value of intangible harm such as pain and suffering. Under some circumstances, an injured person may be able to recover punitive, or exemplary damages, which are intended to punish malicious or reckless behavior and to deter such conduct in the future.
Economic Damages are those that can be measured in dollars, such as:
• Medical expenses in the past
• Medical Expenses that are probable in the future
• Related expenses such as caregiving, special equipment, and special housing
• Lost wages in the past
• Lost wages and/or Loss of Earning Capacity that are probable in the future
• Attorney Fees (under some circumstances)
• Property Damage
Non-Economic Damages are those values that are not so readily assessed in dollars, such as:
• Disfigurement in the past and in the future
• Physical Pain and Suffering in the past and in the future
• Mental anguish in the past and in the future
• Punitive or exemplary damages
Many people are not aware of all of the avenues of recovery that may be available to them after an accident. Ross Law Group’s experienced Texas personal injury attorneys will fully investigate the accident to determine every party that may have liability, and the insurance and assets of each liable party.
Another factor that is important in managing your legal case arising from an injury is the insurance that is involved. If your health insurance has paid for medical treatment, the carrier usually has the right to demand reimbursement from your monetary recovery from the liable parties.
Medical providers may file liens for the costs incurred for medical care arising for treatment of the injury. An experienced personal injury attorney will help negotiate with the medical providers to try to reduce their charges and enable you to get the maximum benefit from your recovery.
Injured people often ask, “How much is the settlement in a pharmacy error injury case?” Even the most experienced personal injury lawyer cannot give you an easy answer to that question. Many factors affect the settlement value of a personal injury case.
The practical answer is that your settlement in a personal injury case is dependant on the amount of money available from the party of parties who are liable for your injury. Within the total amounts that may exist from which to demand compensation, the settlement value of your case depends on your ability to prove liability, causation, and damages. Ross Law Group’s experienced personal injury attorneys have the knowledge and skill to investigate, prepare, present, negotiate, and try your case to try to obtain the maximum recovery you are entitled to receive. When Defendants know that you have an experienced attorney who is ready to take your case to trial, they are usually more open to serious negotiations. Contact us today for a free personal injury consultation.
If you are finding it emotionally difficult to adjust to your life after a serious injury caused by a medication error, please seek help. It is normal for you to find it difficult to adjust to the changes in your body and your life, and anger and depression are common reactions. Counseling, and perhaps medication for depression, can help. Tell your doctor how you are feeling.
You can rely on Ross Law Group for effective representation and personal client service in all types of personal injury cases. To learn if we can be of assistance to you, please contact an Austin personal injury lawyer today for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win compensation for you.
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