Medication Errors & Dealing with Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is one of the most serious breaches of trust in society since it is an error that occurs during some kind of medical treatment, often resulting in personal injury to the patient. However, despite the critical ramifications that medical malpractice can have, it is, in most cases, considered an error, not a crime.

Sadly, despite medical malpractice not usually being classified as a crime, it is all too easy to commit, with often serious consequences. For example, the medications people require to ease pain, reduce symptoms, or even cure illnesses may be prone to medication errors. Medication error might be the wrong medication is given entirely, the right drug is received but in the wrong dose, and when this happens, it can result in personal injury, and, in the worst case scenario, death.

Fortunately, while medication errors are not necessarily criminal offenses, giving out the wrong medications does not have to go unpunished. Medical malpractice through giving the wrong medications can still be addressed through a lawsuit. Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz is here to explain how. But first, let’s look at the basics of medication errors.

What Counts as Medication Error?

As the name implies, medication errors are a situation where someone is administered the wrong medications. The definition of wrong medications, however, is pretty broad. In general, wrong medications may be considered in play in the following circumstances:

Wrong Medications

Very straightforward. Certain types of medications were prescribed for the patient, but different medications were administered. For example, Lisinopril might be incorrectly read as “Lisinopri 1” due to an error in reading handwriting, and so the wrong medications were given.

Dosage

In this case, the right medications are administered, but in the wrong amounts. Too much or too little can at best, do nothing to help the patient, and, at worst, actively worsen health or even lead to death. But without the proper dosage, the intended effect doesn’t occur.

Mislabeling

Sometimes the wrong medications result in personal injury because the person giving the medication was just following the label, but the label was wrong. That may be a manufacturing or distribution error.

Allergies

There is also a case to be made for the right medications interacting with a patient who has an allergic predisposition to that medication. That can be a mild, severe, or lethal allergic reaction.

Interactions

Some medications will produce specific harmful reactions if they interact with other medications already present in a person’s system. These types of medication errors are a common personal injury if no one takes the time to account for all medications a patient is taking and consider the potential for interactions.

Side-Effects

Strictly a matter of individual predisposition, it is nevertheless essential to inform patients that medications may come with side-effects. Not telling a patient about possible side-effects and then the medication results in personal injury is considered one of the more serious medication errors.

Keeping a Record of Prescriptions

One of the best ways to help prevent — and in worst case scenarios, prove — personal injury through medical malpractice is keeping a record of prescriptions. Whether it is treatment in a hospital or nursing homes, family members should start keeping track of which medications a person is taking. In some cases, this is a great way to prevent medication errors, since if particular medications were documented to produce reactions, prescription records would be critical in avoiding those medications in the future.

On the other hand, if a personal injury is sustained through medication errors, a record of prescriptions is an excellent piece of evidence to find out what happened quickly. If, for example, it is on record that a person has a severe reaction to certain medications, a history of prescriptions may note this and be passed onto the nursing homes to keep them informed. If the staff receive the record but fail to read it, and this negligence results in personal injury through medical malpractice, this is compelling proof.

If you or someone in your family suffers a personal injury through medication errors, that is serious enough that a medical malpractice suit can be carried out against the hospital or nursing homes that made the error. But that means getting experienced, legal guidance.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice case is a very serious, complex legal action to take. With this type of personal injury, the evidence is crucial. Personal injury lawsuits based on medication errors can either get resolved quickly with an out-of-court settlement or go all the way to a medical malpractice trial for the hospitals or nursing homes involved.

In either scenario, getting a resolution and holding the people accountable for giving wrong medications is a lengthy, complicated goal. Negligence must be proven in medical malpractice, meaning that there must be proof that staff or medical professionals acted in a careless, reckless, or negligent manner, resulting in medication errors. That may require investigations into procedures followed at the facility, interviews with staff, expert testimony from doctors about the medications in question, and a lot of other in-depth research and evidence gathering.

Do not assume that just because you or a family member were given the wrong medications, this is going to be an easy, open-and-shut case of personal injury, with a quick settlement and compensation. In many cases, the hospital or nursing home accused of these actions won’t merely accept the blame but will attempt to fight back with their own lawyers and arguments about why they are not liable for the issues.

If they choose to fight your accusation, you will need experienced lawyers on your side to help fight back and to prove, perhaps even to a jury in court, that you are in the right and are owed financial compensation. You can attempt to do this yourself, but the legal knowledge, forms, procedures that need to be observed, and even the administration required, to have your day in court can be daunting.

Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz Will Fight for You

Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz is dedicated to making sure that people who have been wronged get the justice and financial compensation they deserve. If you’ve been victimized by medication errors resulting in medical malpractice, and you need legal case help, reach out to us, and we can give it.

Originally published at ohiotiger.com on December 5, 2018.