Prescription drugs can carry a wide range of side effects, some of which lead to serious or life-threatening consequences in thousands of individuals every year. Many of these complications are otherwise avoidable and could be attributed to medical malpractice or medical negligence. If you’ve suffered harm or injury because of a prescription drug, you may be wondering whether you can sue your doctor, or who can be held responsible for this mistake.
Prescription Drug Errors
Prescription drug errors are a common source of medical malpractice claims. They can occur by administering the wrong medication, administering the wrong dosage (either too much or too little), mislabeling the medication, prescribing a medication the patient is allergic to, prescribing a medication which may interact negatively with another medication the patient is taking, or a failure to warn the patient about side effects.
Broadly speaking, anyone and everyone involved in the process of prescribing medications can be held liable for prescription drug errors, which includes physicians, nurses, hospitals, pharmacists, and the pharmaceutical manufacturer. An illness or the complications resulting from a prescription drug may or may not be the fault of your doctor, which is why it is important to identify where and why the complications occurred and whether or not someone may be liable.
When it comes to prescription drug errors made by doctors and nurses, they are often due to a miscommunication about which medication should be prescribed or what dosage should be administered. It is remarkably easy to make a mistake during the medication chain which passes from doctor to nurse to pharmacist. For example, missing or transposing a decimal point could result in the patient being administered ten or a hundred times too much or too little of a medication, which can result in disastrous consequences.
Different medications must also be administered in different ways. For example, when it comes to medications that are administered by injection, some should be administered in muscles and others into the bloodstream. The failure to administer the drug in the proper place could result in serious complications and possibly constitute medical malpractice.
While your doctor should have information regarding any medical allergies you may have, and should avoid prescribing drugs that could have potentially harmful interactions, these types of prescription drug errors are generally the fault of the pharmacist rather than the doctor. Having a complete and full picture of your prescription drug history and records is one of the main reasons that you should always use the same pharmacy for all of your prescriptions.
While prescription drugs help millions of people every year, it cannot be denied that they have also become a common source of medical malpractice claims and the effects of a prescription drug error can often be serious or fatal. If you have gotten sick or suffered as a result of a prescription drug error, you should contact an Austin medical malpractice firm, like Fears Nachawati, as soon as possible.
No one should have to suffer due to the negligence of others, especially at the hands of the medical professionals who we turn to for help. Our team of experienced medical malpractice lawyers has tackled all manner of prescription drug claims and we will fight to ensure that you receive justice. If you or a loved one has been the victim of what you believe to be a prescription drug error, then contact our team of medical malpractice attorneys for a free, no-obligation legal consultation.
Please call (866) 705-7584, or visit the offices of Fears Nachawati located throughout the great state of Texas, including in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.