Have you suffered an injury after a prescription or pharmacy error? Get the answers you need to protect your rights

They say that timing is everything. More car accidents occur at certain times, like late weekend nights or weekday rush hours. Airfares are cheapest on Wednesdays. Did you know that timing also matters when it comes to filling your prescriptions?

Overworked medical professionals make mistakes, and pharmacists are no exception. However, as it turns out, there may be a way to tell when your pharmacist will be overworked. A study that looked at prescription drug deaths from 1979 to 2000 saw that most deaths occurred during the first week of the month.

Was pharmacy error to blame for these deaths? Many experts suspect that they could be. Pharmacies face a huge increase in demand during the first week of the month. What is the cause for this rise in demand? Social Security and public assistance payments are typically disbursed at the beginning of the month, so people who struggle to pay for their medications wait until the beginning of the month to order prescriptions. This leaves pharmacists scrambling to fill orders and consult with patients, and it opens the door for greater risk of pharmacy errors.

Wait Until the Middle of the Month

While you cannot always control when you need a prescription, if you can help it, aim for mid-month or towards the end of the month to place your order. Your pharmacist may have more time to consult with you individually, and has likely had less pressure to get your medication order filled quickly.

Have you experienced the beginning of the month pharmacy dash? Did it result in an error with your prescription? Talk to us today by clicking the live chat link on this page to learn more about your rights when it comes to pharmacy errors.

Related Links: Are Pharmacies Chronically Understaffed? Who Is Liable for Prescription Misfills? Has Your Walgreens Pharmacy Made an Error?

 

Related Links: Who Has a Hand in Making Medications Safer and Reducing Medicine Errors? FDA Implements Bar Codes to Reduce Prescription Drug Errors

You probably are aware that medications can lead to harmful side effects and adverse events, which is why every one wishes and hopes that prescriptions will get safer for the general public. Unfortunately, there are many causes of medication errors and many people who still receive the wrong medication or incorrect dosage of drugs at their pharmacies; however, there are ways in which prescriptions are getting safer.

Some of the ways pharmacy prescriptions are becoming safer for patients include:

• Most doctor’s offices have switched from handwritten prescriptions that were hard for pharmacists to read to electronic prescriptions.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are analyzing medication packages and drug names to reduce sound-alike or look-alike drug mistakes.
• Barcode technology is being used at hospitals and pharmacies—even compounding pharmacies—to verify the correct medication is being given out and that patients are less likely to receive the wrong medication.
• Pharmacies are using software to help them flag patients’ allergy issues and drug interactions to minimize pharmacy errors

As you can see above, there are many ways prescriptions errors are being reduced. However, technology and new processes can only do so much to stop a prescription error from occurring. When pharmacists fail to check prescriptions, verify a patient’s age and weight, and review current medications patients are taking, consumers may be at risk for prescription errors.

This is why we recommend that you go to the same pharmacy for all your pills, take the pharmacist up on a consultation, communicate with the pharmacist and ask questions about how and when to take the medication, and thoroughly review any medication before taking it. Please share this information on Google Plus with to help others avoid being a victim of pharmacy error.

Related Links The Harsh Reality of Patients Being Harmed by IV Dosing Errors Who Is to Blame for the Wrong Dosage of IV Medication?

You most likely should have a claim for damages. Nurses or other medical professionals are supposed to follow the rules and procedures put in place when administering a drug using an intravenous (IV) medication system. When they fail to follow protocol and cut corners, they can injure patients.

Unfortunately, the rate of IV medication errors has risen substantially across the nation. According to the Institute for Medicine, there are about 7,000 deaths that result from IV medication mistakes as well as millions of people suffering sicknesses annually. Sometimes this occurs due to medication contamination, and other times it happens as a result of nurse fatigue or failure to follow procedures.

When medication mistakes are made in hospitals by trained professionals, patients should be compensated for the side effects and pain and suffering they endured. Sadly, IV medication errors are preventable mistakes that should never occur in the first place.

If you were harmed as a result of an IV medication, requiring a longer hospital stay and other treatments that increased your hospital bill, you should be compensated for those financial damages as well as for your emotional trauma and pain and suffering.

You went to the hospital for help and not to be harmed, which is why you probably have a claim against the nurse, doctor, or hospital involved. To learn more about your rights to a claim for damages, order a free copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.

If you have suffered an injury due to a pharmacist’s negligence, you may be able to pursue a claim for compensation against the pharmacy. Typically, you will be reimbursed for your physical injuries, pain, suffering, medical expenses, lost wages, and damages for impairment or disfigurement. Additionally, you may have endured emotional trauma as a result of the incident and should be compensated accordingly.

When adverse advents occur that cause physical trauma, victims often suffer from mental anguish. As a result of pharmacy negligence, many victims have suffered from fear, severe anxiety, embarrassment, psychological issues, and emotional distress.

If you believe you suffered emotional trauma in addition to physical injuries that wrong medication or a wrong dosage of drugs caused, you may have a claim for such injuries. For example, you may have a fear of going to a pharmacy again, taking medications in the future, or may be worried about the outcome of this incident and should be awarded damages for mental anguish and emotional trauma.

It is important that you seek the legal advice of an experienced attorney who has successfully handled these types of cases in front of a judge and jury. This way you will be able to rest assured knowing you will be compensated for your emotional injuries and that you will receive the proper amount of compensation for your physical injuries as well.

To speak with us about your case in a free consultation, please dial 888-526-7616 today. You can also learn a lot about your rights by downloading a free copy of our report How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Error.

Related Links: Which Party Can I Hold Liable for Pharmacy Malpractice? Who Is Responsible for My Injuries When Multiple Drugs Interacted?

Typically, when a medication error occurs at a hospital, many parties could be involved—including nurses, doctors, and pharmacists. When a prescription error happens at a pharmacy, there are also many possible parties liable, such as pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.

In order to determine which party is liable for your damages, you should contact an attorney who is experienced in handling medication error cases. This way, a thorough investigation can be conducted to determine if a doctor prescribed the wrong medication, the nurse did not spot the doctor’s error, or the pharmacist filled the prescription as written without noticing the problem. Sometimes, the hospital or pharmacy may be liable parties in addition to nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.

When patients are harmed due to medication errors, there might not be one person or party fully liable. Instead, there may be flaws with the system and multiple parties involved in the medical mistake. If a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist failed to double check a prescription for accuracy and failed  to provide a patient with the standard duty of care, a patient can file a claim for negligence.

Sometimes, there are different percentages of blame involved. For example, a doctor or hospital may be partially to blame for prescribing the wrong medication or wrong dosage of medication, but the pharmacy or pharmacist may also share in the blame for filling the wrong drug or incorrect dose of drug.

To find out which party you may be able to hold liable for your medical bills and pain and suffering, contact Kennedy Hodges today for a free initial consultation with a skilled pharmacy error lawyer at 888-526-7616 today.

The decision to employ more pharmacy technicians and fewer pharmacists comes from the top (above the pharmacists), but pharmacists still have to do their job diligently. It doesn’t seem fair that pharmacists have to take responsibility for everyone else’s actions behind the pharmacy counter, but they do.

Pharmacists are there to supervise and double check the work of pharmacy technicians. If pharmacists do not catch a medication mistake made by a technician, that pharmacist may take the heat. Pharmacists have way more schooling, education, training, and experience than technicians, and they are ultimately responsible for every order that leaves the pharmacy.

They are supposed to thoroughly check every prescription for accuracy before it ever gets into a patient’s hands. However, because of distractions, their work environment, or the fact they are too busy, mistakes slip through the cracks. Sometimes, pharmacists would have been able to catch mistakes if they would have counseled the patient or followed the procedures that are in place. When they fail to do these things, they are also at fault for the technician’s mistake.  Even if you are certain that the technician made the mistake, pharmacists are superior to technicians and ultimately are liable for any pharmacy error that occurs on their watch.

Please call us to discuss your situation and speak with a qualified pharmacy error lawyer at Kennedy Hodges, L.L.P. at 888-526-7616 during a free, no-obligation case consultation and also request a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.

It depends and a pharmacy error attorney can investigate. He will investigate to determine if the doctor wrote down the wrong medication, if the pharmacist filled the wrong medication, if the pharmacist gave you someone else’s drugs, if poor handwriting contributed to the situation, or if laziness or lack of communication played a part.

There could be multiple parties to blame for your injuries that were caused by dangerous drug interactions. Depending on your specific circumstance, the following are the possible parties that could be liable for the harm you suffered:

• Pharmacists and pharmacies – if the pharmacist misinterpreted or misread a doctor’s prescription, failed to double check a patient’s medical records including drugs he is already taking, dispensed the wrong medication, or failed to inform the patient about the dangers and side effects of certain drugs, then they may be found responsible.
• Doctors – if the doctor did not check your medical history or ask you what drugs you are currently taking, he or she could have caused the problem. Also, if the doctor wrote down the wrong prescription, he or she may be liable in your case.
• Drug companies – if the drug that caused you harm was actually determined to be a dangerous drug, the pharmaceutical drug company could be held accountable in your case.

Our pharmacy lawyers can investigate and get a medical expert involved to review your case. We can determine which party should be held responsible for the harm you suffered. Call Kennedy Hodges, L.L.P. at 888-526-7616 for a free case consultation and request a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.

Yes, you should be able to file a prescription drug error lawsuit for damages and injuries your child suffered. When a drug mix-up occurs, it is considered pharmacy malpractice, which is a form of medical malpractice law; negligent pharmacists and pharmacies may be held responsible for the medication errors they have made.

Pharmacists may mistakenly fill the wrong prescription because it looks similar or sounds similar to another medication. When a customer receives the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of the correct drug, or the wrong instructions with the correct drug, he or she can suffer health complications and serious side effects.

While all patients should discuss their prescriptions with their doctors and pharmacists in order to take an active role in protecting their own health and safety, patients sometimes may not know they received a sound-alike or look-alike drug until it is too late.

If your child suffered injuries from this pharmacy mistake, you could be entitled to compensation for your child’s medical bills, pain and suffering, and more. To find out more about filing a lawsuit for financial compensation after the adverse effects of a pharmacy error, contact a drug error attorney to discuss your pharmacy malpractice case and to learn more about your legal options.

Kennedy Hodges, L.L.P., a skilled pharmacy malpractice law firm, will answer your questions, help you understand your rights, and explain what compensation is available in your case. Call 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

You’re right to worry about a medication mistake when you’re going out of town. Not only are these accidents more likely to happen when you’re out of town than when you’re at home, but they also occur when you are far away from your own doctors and family. In a situation like this, a simple mistake can easily have life-threatening consequences. 

Here are just a few ways people have experienced prescription mistakes while on vacation:

• One vial, several meds. People want to travel light, and that includes medications. Rather than packing all medications in their labeled containers, some people will combine six or seven different drugs in one container, which is especially troublesome if any of the medications look alike.
• Taking others’ medications.Many people think nothing of accepting a headache remedy or antacid when a friend offers it, but these good intentions can have serious consequences. Many pills look alike, and a friend could easily hand you a blood pressure medication instead of a painkiller.
• Out-of-town pharmacies. Having a pharmacist and staff that know you is a big advantage in avoiding prescription drug errors. But when you need a refill on the go, the pharmacy in another state—or even a few cities away—is more likely to make a mistake if they are unaware of your medical history.

The attorneys at Kennedy Hodges can help you understand your legal rights if you have been hospitalized after a pharmacy error. Call us today at (888) 526-7616 for a FREE consultation on your case.

Want to know what NOT to do in your pharmacy error case? Click the link above for a FREE copy of our report How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Your Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.

There are a number of things you should do when someone you love is suffering from a drug error injury. In these heightened circumstances, it’s hard to know what to do first, but our experienced pharmacy error attorneysare here to help.

 

• Get medical help. The most important thing is your loved one’s health. As soon as you discover the mistake, call your doctor to see what the most likely effects will be. If needed, go to the emergency room (call an ambulance if you are unable to drive).
• Gather all evidence. You will be given a lot of information in the course of your case, and it’s hard to process it all at once. Keep all medical records, documentation and, of course, the packaging your loved one’s medication came in. It may be useful later.
• Know your rights. The hospital or pharmacy responsible for the mistake may contact you in the days after the accident. DO NOT talk to them without the advice of a trusted drug injury attorney, since you could forfeit your right to compensation.

 

The attorneys at Kennedy Hodges understand that this will be an overwhelming and terrifying time for you and your family. That’s why we offer a FREE, no-obligation legal consultation to make sure you keep your right to compensation.

 

Call us today at 888-526-7616 to start your FREE case evaluation, or click the link above to receive a complimentary copy of ourinformational guide, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for your Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.