Can I Sue for Medical Malpractice if My Pharmacy Made a Serious Error?

 Posted on October 08, 2020 in Medical Malpractice

Pharmacies have the exceptionally important responsibility of filling patients’ prescriptions and dispensing medication. If a pharmacist or other pharmacy worker makes a mistake, it is possible that a patient could receive the wrong medication or the wrong dosage of medication. This may lead to serious or even fatal consequences. If you or a loved one were harmed because of a pharmacy error, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim.

Common Types of Pharmacy Mistakes

When patients take a prescription to the pharmacist to have it filled, most trust that they will receive the correct prescription in the dosage ordered by their doctor. Unfortunately, pharmacists sometimes make mistakes. If a patient does not recognize a pharmacy mistake before taking the medication, he or she may take a drug that leads to severe medical complications. Some of the most common pharmacy errors include:

• Dispensing the wrong medication
• Dispensing a medication in the wrong dosage
• Giving the patient misinformation regarding the medication’s administration or dosage
• Failing to account for drug interactions
• Failing to account for patient allergies

Elements of Pharmacy Malpractice

If you or a loved one were the victim of a pharmacy mistake, you may be wondering what your legal options are. In order to bring a successful pharmacy malpractice claim and recover financial compensation, four main elements must be present:

• Duty of Care: The pharmacy had a legal duty to the patient to provide reasonably competent pharmacy services. Typically, this element is satisfied if the patient was a customer at the pharmacy.
• Breach of Duty of Care: This element is satisfied if a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or another pharmacy worker made a mistake that violated the "medical standard of care." The medical standard of care is usually described as the type of care that a reasonable medical professional of the same training and education would have provided in a similar situation.
• Causation: The pharmacy’s breach of duty led to the patient’s injuries.
• Damages: The patient suffered costs or "damages" as a result of his or her injuries.

Although serious pharmacy errors should never occur, you may not have a valid pharmacy malpractice claim if you did not actually suffer harm from the pharmacist’s mistake. For example, if you realized that the pharmacist had given you the wrong medication before you took it, you most likely do not have a valid claim. However, if you took the medication and suffered harm in the form of new or worsening medical concerns, you may have a claim. You may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more.

Contact a Rolling Meadows Pharmacy Errors Lawyer

If you or a loved one have suffered because of a pharmacy mistake, contact a knowledgeable Arlington Heights medical malpractice attorney from Newland & Newland, LLP. You may be entitled to financial compensation for the harm caused by the pharmacy’s negligence. Call our office at 847-797-8000 today and schedule a free phone consultation to learn more.

Source:

https://courts.illinois.gov/CircuitCourt/CivilJuryInstructions/IL_IPI_Civil.pdf