While we would like to think that pharmacists never make mistakes, this is not really the case. Pharmacy errors occur all the time and they are sometimes very harmful and can even lead to death. While no pharmacist ever sets out to make errors intentionally, there are always legal questions that are involved when a pharmacist makes a significant error.
If you have been harmed by a pharmacy error, you might be wondering how this has happened to you. Maybe you are not even sure that the issues that you are struggling with are related to a pharmacy error at all. The following is a list of the top ten reasons that pharmacy errors occur. These mistakes are almost always a reason that you might be able to get compensation for your injuries.
There are many reasons that pharmacy errors occur, but they almost always lead to these mistakes on this list.
This can happen due to more than just errors related to the doctor that prescribed the medication. Your pharmacist could forget to order a medication that is not in the pharmacy or they might be unaware that your prescription has been sent in because they are not tracking paperwork correctly.
Delays in prescriptions can lead to significant harm to patient health and you should not have to wait for more than the normal day or two for medications to come into the pharmacy. This is something that is often overlooked that is a serious pharmacy error.
Many medications look the same and it can be easy to give people the wrong medications if you are not paying attention. All the pills have unique markings and are supposed to be labeled carefully, but these kinds of errors happen all the time. Sometimes this error is due to handwriting issues on the doctor’s side, but a pharmacist is always required to check on the prescription if they are not sure that they can read it.
The dosage of medications is related to your size, your age, and other factors. Your pharmacist should always be sure that the dosage of the medication they are giving you is correct before they send you home with it. Giving people the wrong dosage of a medication can be just as harmful as not giving the right medication.
Some patients are not able to take medications in liquid form, or others are unable to take medications in pill form. Sometimes the dosing is also wrong when you are given the wrong form of the drug. A pharmacist should always make sure that they have given you the right form of medication for your overall health and needs.
Pharmacists are required to make sure that they check your chart for indications of health conditions that would make it a problem for you to take medication. They should reach out to the doctor that requested the medication be filled if they think that your chart shows that you cannot safely take this medication.
One of the most common pharmacy-related injuries is related to a pharmacist giving out a medication that cannot be taken with another medication that the patient has been given. The chart notes will always tell them what the person’s current medications are, and they should make sure that this new drug will not interact with existing medications that are being taken.
Pharmacists are required to give you access to counsel before they give you any medication. This even applies to the medications that you have taken in the past. Your pharmacist should always be willing to talk with you before you go home with your medications to make sure that you are comfortable with taking them and understand the dosage.
Sometimes medications are given to patients with the wrong labels on them. These labels need to tell the patient what the medication is and how much of it to take. If the label is wrong, the patient might be harmed by taking this medication. This is why labels have to be looked at more than once before the bottles of medications are given to a patient.
Pharmacists are required to verify that patients have not been given pain meds too many times in the last month. This is actually a law and it requires that pharmacists verify to the best of their ability that a person should be given more pain meds when they hand off a prescription. Giving medications to drug seekers who can harm themselves by not reviewing their medication history can be a huge mistake.
If you are not given the full amount of the medication that you are supposed to take for an illness, you might end up with antibiotic-resistant illnesses or other issues. Running out of medications before your course of treatment is complete can lead to major health concerns. Pharmacists are required to count all the pills that they give you or all the packets of medications each time before they send you home with them.
If you have been harmed through the errors of a pharmacist, you need to make sure that you have gotten the help of a lawyer who is experienced in these cases. Work with us at Kennedy Law Firm for help with your pharmacy injury case. We can help you to get the compensation that you deserve for your injuries and make sure that you can get your life back on track.
Contact us today for help with your case and to schedule a consultation. We will make sure that you get the support that you need after you have been harmed through pharmacy error or pharmacy negligence.
Pharmacy errors can cause death or significant health concerns. If you think that you have been harmed due to a
Pharmacy negligence results in 1.5 million injuries to people in the US each year. These errors happen in the hospital
Pharmacists are required by law and by definition of their duties to provide specific care to their customers and patients
