Scranton Medication Errors Attorneys
Millions of Americans use prescription drugs to deal with various ailments, diseases and medical conditions. They rely on medical professionals to prescribe and provide the right medication in the proper dosage. When healthcare providers make a mistake regarding medication, the complications and side effects to the patient can result in serious injury, illness, or even death.
Unfortunately, prescription errors occur at an alarming rate. A press release issued by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in July 2006 reported that medication errors were among the most common medical mistakes, harming at least 1.5 million people every year and costing billions of dollars annually. The Institute estimated that, on average, there is at least one medication error per hospital patient per day, although error rates vary widely across facilities. According to the study, 400,000 preventable drug-related injuries occur each year in hospitals. Another 800,000 injuries occurred in long-term care settings, and roughly 530,000 occurred among Medicare recipients in outpatient clinics. The study cautioned that these numbers are likely to be conservative estimates.
Of course, healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists serve important functions, but no one is above the law. If you have suffered from a medication error, those responsible need to be identified and held accountable. Pharmaceutical drug errors can occur in hospitals, nursing homes, and retail outlets, such as pharmacies or grocery stores. The Scranton medication error lawyers at Munley, Munley, & Cartwright, P.C., investigate prescription drug errors and ask the difficult questions that healthcare professionals prefer to avoid. Such questions may include why proper procedures were not followed, why alerts were not taken into account, how fill errors occurred, and why an improper dosage was administered.
There are many kinds of medication errors including:
- Disregarding a patient’s allergies
- Disregarding potential drug interaction problems
- Erroneous diagnosis or negligence by a doctor or nurse
- Failing to properly counsel a patient about taking the medication
- Filling a prescription with the wrong dosage of medication
- Filling a prescription with the wrong medication
- Filling a prescription with the wrong patient's prescription
- Filling a prescription with the wrong quantity
- Illegible handwriting on a prescription
- Not considering the weight and age of a patient
If you or someone you love has been the victim of pharmaceutical negligence in the form of a medication error, you may be entitled to compensation. It is important to realize that medication error claims are subject to statutes of limitations, which limit the time you have to pursue recovery for your injuries. Contact the Scranton medical malpractice attorneys of Munley, Munley, & Cartwright, P.C., today for a free evaluation of your case. Please call us at (800) 318-LAW1 or contact us online. We have offices conveniently located in Scranton, Stroudsburg, Carbondale, Plains, Hazleton, Harrisburg and Hamlin, PA. Our initial consultation is free of charge and our goal is to provide exceptional legal services to our clients.
