My father suffered a prescription drug overdose because the pharmacist told him it was okay to chew his pills before swallowing them. Do we have a case against the pharmacy?
A:
Yes! Your pharmacist has a duty to check for possible drug interactions, allergies, and other potential risks before you leave the pharmacy, and that includes making sure a medication can be altered before taking it.
Your pharmacist could be liable for a medication mistake that involved:
Tablet modifications. Your pharmacist should warn you that many pills are designed for proper dispersion into your system; if they are chewed or crushed before swallowing, you will absorb them much more quickly.
Foods and drinks. Many patients who have difficulty swallowing larger pills will crush them in order to add them to food or suspend them in a liquid. Not only can this can increase the potency of the drug, but many medications interact with certain foods, causing a number of dangerous side effects.
Combining pills. Patients may assume that if one medication may be chewed, then all of them can. This increases the risk of overdose, but also of medication interaction: a patient may take a handful of pills in the morning, chew them all together, and swallow.
If your pharmacist allowed a relative to alter his medication without checking for side effects, or failed to see if there was an alternative form of the drug, our pharmacy overdose attorneys can help you get the compensation you deserve for your suffering. Call Kennedy Hodges today at (888) 526-7616 or click the link above to receive a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.
