How to Find the Right Pharmacy Negligence and Malpractice Lawyer

Pharmacy negligence is a common source of injury related to personal injury cases. The CDC shows that there are 251,454 deaths are the result of medical errors every year. Many of these deaths are related to incorrectly dispensed medications.

If you have been harmed in a pharmacy negligence incident, you are probably wondering what you need to do to get compensation for your injuries and to get your life back on track. You might be thinking that you can work through the steps of your claim and court case without help but this is a complicated part of personal injury law and you will need the help of the right pharmacy negligence lawyer to help you.

Attorneys specialize in certain portions of Personal Injury Law, and you will want to have the right lawyer on your side to make sure that your case has a positive outcome. There are lots of moving parts in a pharmacy negligence case and proving who is responsible for that negligence is a big part of getting the compensation you deserve.

What is Pharmacy Negligence?

Negligence is defined as a failure to exercise care. This is a basic definition, but it is particularly relevant to pharmacy cases because working with medications can carry a lot of risk for patients. There are many things that need to be researched before a prescription is given to a patient and if a pharmacist misses any of these steps, significant harm or even death can result.

Pharmacy negligence can cause significant harm and a great deal of care is required to be given to pharmacy-related tasks for this reason. While it is obvious to many people that pharmacists have a difficult job that requires a high degree of attention to detail, you still cannot assume that the pharmacist is responsible if you have been given the wrong medication.

There are many people involved in the process that leads to a prescription being filled for you, and your lawyer will be able to make sure that a proper investigation is done into who is responsible for your injury.

What Kinds of Errors Cause Pharmacy Negligence?

There are many kinds of errors that can lead to patient harm or death related to pharmacy negligence. This is one of the first steps that is undertaken by your personal injury lawyer when they take on your case. They will determine which error has led to your injury.

• Incorrectly labeled medications: This might be a label that shows the wrong dosage of a medication or does not explain how to take the medication. This can result in injury or even death with some medications that must be taken on a set schedule and at a very specific dose.
• Medication that is not labeled at all: This can be an even bigger error as many patients will not call their pharmacy to ask questions and will just assume that they know what the dose of the unlabeled medication is supposed to be. This can be confusing as well since many medications look the same and a patient might mistake one medication for another if the bottle is not labeled.
• Incorrect medication is dispensed: This is a grave error and it can be easy to make because many medications look the same. This error can occur because the pharmacist is distracted or because of issues related to the doctor’s handwriting and other kinds of confusion.
• Lack of consult: A pharmacist is required to provide consultation to each patient they dispense medication to. This is a chance for the patient to be given instructions about the medication and the patient can ask questions about the medication if they have any. This step in the process must not be missed or a patient could suffer harm or injury that could have been avoided.
• Drug interactions not considered: Sometimes patients will be taking many medications and they might not be able to have the medication that a doctor prescribes due to a possible drug interaction that could occur. This is a very important step in the pharmacist’s process and should never be missed. If it is missed, significant harm could occur.

All of these errors can ultimately lead to patients being harmed, but it can be hard to prove that the pharmacist was the one who committed the error. There is an entire chain of events that lead to a drug being given to a patient, and that process begins with the doctor who requests the medication. There are also pharmacy techs who work with the pharmacists who might be involved in the error.

In some cases, the pharmacist did all of the steps of their process correctly, but there is something wrong with the drug itself. This would then become a case where the drug company is responsible and would require a different kind of court case to seek compensation for injuries related to the medication being prescribed.

How Can a Lawyer Help Me With my Personal Injury Case Related to Pharmacy Negligence?

A lawyer will be able to help you to get the compensation that you are seeking through knowledge of the proper research that needs to be done to determine fault. They will also be able to help you to seek the proper amount of compensation for your injuries. These kinds of cases might have compensation limitations placed on them in your state, and your lawyer will know what those rules are and follow them.

Your lawyer will also be able to look at all of your medical bills, your time off of work related to your injury, and any permanent health concerns that have resulted from pharmacy negligence. They will take this information and use it to build a case that can be presented to a judge to show that the pharmacy negligence that you experienced has led to a reduced ability to work or pain and suffering as well as medical expenses.

These processes are necessary if you want to seek compensation for your pharmacy negligence case and you will need the guidance of a skilled personal injury lawyer to make sure that they are handled correctly before you go to court.

What Kinds of Lawsuits are Related to Pharmacy Negligence and Medication Errors?

There are various kinds of pharmacy negligence cases that can be related to a pharmacy negligence situation that has taken place. Your unique case might fall into any one of these categories based on the reasons for the pharmacy negligence taking place.

Duty of Care: This is the obligation that all healthcare providers have to their patients. They are required to take all actions related to their job functions with patient safety and health in mind. The duty of care applies to pharmacists as well as doctors and when medications are involved. Pharmacists are required to follow all of the necessary steps to make sure that their prescriptions are filled correctly and with the proper attention to detail for patient safety.

Breach of Duty: This occurs when a healthcare provider fails to perform at the required standard of medical care which can result in injury or sickness. They can be found liable for this error and a doctor or a pharmacist who does not follow the required steps for proper patient care is considered to be in breach of duty.  This can include research for possible medication interactions as well as looking at the patient’s prior medical history to make sure that they can have a certain medication.

Causation: There are many people involved in the process of prescribing medication and your attorney will research the incident to figure out who is directly responsible for the injury. Filling the wrong medication does not constitute malpractice by itself.

Damages: Your pharmacy negligence case would have to have resulted in economic or emotional damage for this to apply. These damages are hard to quantify in monetary terms, so a qualified lawyer will need to help you to determine the right compensation to seek for these kinds of damages. This can be a complicated question, but your lawyer will know how to come up with the right number related to your pain and suffering.

What Are a Pharmacist’s Legal Duties?

A pharmacist’s job duties are a matter of law in every state. They cannot choose not to follow these requirements as they go about their daily job duties. The states all have similar laws that govern pharmacy care.

• Reviewing patient medical history
• Warning patients of possible side effects from medications
• Screening for drug interactions
• Making sure that the patient has not gotten conflicting drug prescribed by more than one doctor
• Contacting the health care provider if the medication cannot be taken by the patient
• Keeping notes in the patient chart about medication that have been prescribed by them
• Offering help to patients related to dosing and other medication instructions

All of these steps must be taken when a medication is prescribed and if any one of them is missed, you could be injured by a prescription that you are given as a patient. This is the foundation for any pharmacy negligence case and your lawyer will make sure that your pharmacist has undertaken all of the correct legal steps related to duty of care when they filled your prescription.

What Kind of Changes Can Pharmacists Make to Prescriptions?

There are a few changes that pharmacists are allowed to make to your medication prescriptions once they are sent to them. These are the only changes that they can make and all other items must be discussed with the doctor who prescribed the medication.

Therapeutic Substitution: This is switching out a prescribed drug with another drug in the same class. This can be done in cases where the medications offer the same effect but the one version of the medication will be easier for a patient to take. An example would be a liquid version of the same medication for a patient who has trouble swallowing pills.

Generic Substitutions: This can be done if a cheaper generic of the same medication is available. This will usually be discussed with the patient before it is done, however, and you should make sure that you ask your pharmacist about a change if you do not recognize the name of a medication that you take consistently.

Compounding Option: This change can be the selection of a different flavor or formula of a drug to help make it easier for the patient to take their medication. This should be discussed with a patient first before it is undertaken by a pharmacist to make sure that they are comfortable with this change.

What Should You Do if you Have Been Harmed by Pharmacy Negligence?

You should always seek legal counsel right away if you or a loved one has been the victim of a pharmacy negligence incident. You will need to make sure that you work with the right legal team to help you to get the compensation that you deserve related to your pharmacy neglect case.

Picking the right lawyer for your pharmacy negligence case is essential because these cases are complicated and require a high level of attention to detail. You will want to work with a lawyer who is experienced in this kind of case and who can provide you the right guidance to help you get the compensation that you deserve for your pain and suffering.

We at Kennedy Law Firm can help you get compensation for your pharmacy negligence case. We know that you and your family have suffered as a result of this error and we can help you to get your life back on track. Contact us today for a consultation and we will start the process of seeking compensation related to your pharmacy neglect case today!