Medication & Pharmacy Errors Lawyer in New York

Types of Medication or Pharmaceutical Errors

According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), common causes of medication errors include:

1. Incorrect Diagnosis: An incorrect diagnosis can lead patients to receive the wrong medication, resulting in ineffective treatment and potentially harmful side effects.
2. Prescribing Errors: Prescribing the wrong medication, wrong dosage, or an inappropriate drug for a patient’s condition can cause serious harm or allow a patient’s illness to worsen.
3. Dose Miscalculations: Incorrectly calculating the proper dosage can result in dangerous overdoses or ineffective underdoses.
4. Poor Drug Distribution Practices: When a pharmacy improperly stores, handles, or transports a medication, it can compromise drug efficacy.
5. Incorrect Drug Administration: This could include administering the wrong drug, giving a drug at the wrong time, or administering it improperly.
6. Failed Communication: Miscommunication between healthcare providers, pharmacists, or patients can lead to many errors.
7. Lack of Patient Education: It’s the duty of healthcare providers to educate patients on how to properly take their medications; failure to do so can lead to misuse. This is especially important when a patient must adhere to a complex regimen with multiple drugs and precise timing.
8. Dispensing Incorrect Medication: This occurs when a pharmacy dispenses the incorrect medication, but it might also include the incorrect dosage strength of a medication or type, such as a liquid vs. a tablet.

Often medication errors occur at some point in the process of prescription by a physician, fulfillment by a pharmacy, and administration by medical providers or the patient. The three of the most common causes for these errors include:

1. Mixed-up Drug Names: Drug names are often complicated, and there’s a common issue of what are called “look-alike, sound-alike” medications. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices publishes a list of commonly confused drug names to help pharmacists and physicians avoid common mix-ups. A patient can also get the wrong medication if the pharmacist gives them the wrong order or if the physician fails to check that she has the correct medication before use.
2. Dosage Miscalculation: There is a significant difference between 10 milligrams of a drug and 100 milligrams, just as there is a significant difference between 10 grams and 10 milligrams. Doctors must be clear of the dose amounts and units, and pharmacists need to verify unusually large or small doses with the prescribing physician before filling the order.
3. Drug Allergies: Allergies to certain drugs or drug ingredients are extremely common, and physicians should be mindful of this when prescribing. Prescribing certain medications can be extraordinarily negligent when a patient has a known allergy. While some reactions could be mild, such as a rash, they could include severe anaphylaxis.

Who is Legally Accountable for a Medication Error

There are three main parties likely liable for medication errors:

1. Pharmaceutical Manufacturer: The source of a medication error could go as far back as production if the manufacturer tainted the medication or caused a defect in any way. In this case, your medication error may be treated as a product liability case. The FDA issues warnings and recalls if it finds drugs are more dangerous than beneficial in some situations. They also recall drugs when contamination or mispackaging occurs during manufacturing.
2. Prescribing Physician: The next party in the chain of liability is the doctor who writes the prescription. If the doctor prescribes the wrong medication – one the patient is allergic to, or the wrong dose – he can be liable for damage done.
3. Pharmacist: If the order is correct, it is up to the pharmacist to process it correctly. The pharmacist can make errors here by mixing up drug names, administering the wrong dose, or filling an order for the wrong patient. Errors made by the pharmacist can be even more serious because the medication is likely for home use where it will be unlikely anyone will catch the error before it is too late.
4. Nurse or Doctor Administering Medication: If the patient is in a medical facility, a doctor or nurse is responsible for verifying the patient’s identity, potential allergies, and the correct medication and dose before administering.

As you can see, errors in medication administration can occur at several stages of a medication order. It is important to ask questions regarding any new medications and verify all of your prescriptions before use.

Seeking a Lawsuit for Medication Errors

The harms caused by medication errors can be devastating. While some impacts of medication errors might be mild, they could lead to unnecessary, severe side-effects (e.g. stroke, seizures, or anaphylaxis), allow a serious disease to progress, result in lasting damage (e.g. organ damage, birth defects, or neurological damage), or even wrongful death.

If you believe a medication error caused you or a family member harm, it is important to preserve the evidence. Call attention to the matter as soon as possible so hospital staff can secure and preserve any used vials or packaging. If your error occurred with a home-use medication, secure all containers and keep them out of the reach of others. You will need the medication and packaging as evidence in your claim for damages.

Relevant damages will depend on the nature of the harm that occurred due to the medication error. In cases of medication errors during anesthesia, the results can be brain damage or death, and the surviving family might be entitled to lost earning capacity, loss of consortium, and pain and suffering along with the medical expenses.

The New York medication error attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates have the resources to obtain expert medical witnesses to support your claim for damages. If a medication or pharmaceutical error caused you harm, contact us at 1-800-NOW-HURT for a free case review.