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Types of Pharmacy Negligence That May Lead to a Liability Lawsuit

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Pharmaceutical negligence is an ongoing concern and is a major contributing cause of medical malpractice claims in the United States. Though prevalence rates vary from study to study, an accumulation of studies reveal that they occur at the following rates: 12.3 to 1,400.0 per 1,000 patient admissions for prescribing errors; 0.6 to 53 per 1,000 orders for prescribing errors; and 1.5 to 9.9 errors per 100 opportunities for error. It is believed that more than seven million people are affected each year by medication errors, and that said errors cost the healthcare industry, on average, $21 billion each year. Sadly, most prescription errors are preventable.

Pharmacists have a duty to ensure that the prescriptions they deliver to patients are correct, as any errors can result in severe or even life-threatening injuries. When a pharmacist does make an error, he or she may be held accountable for resulting damages. If you believe that you or a loved one is the victim of a pharmacist’s negligence, it is important that you contact a legal professional. Our Miami medical malpractice attorneys can help you identify negligence and pursue the compensation you need and deserve after the incident.

Types of Pharmacist Negligence

Though pharmaceutical negligence can occur in multiple ways, there are a few ways in which pharmacists routinely act negligently. Those include the following:

Lack of Knowledge

Regardless of whether you have been frequenting the same pharmacy for years or are a new patient, a pharmacist has a responsibility to review your medical history and allergies before dispensing medication. If he or she fails to do so, and if you experience an adverse reaction to a drug because of it, he or she may be held liable for negligence.

Dispensing Incorrect Medication

Taking the wrong medication can result in serious or even fatal reactions. If a pharmacist fails to place the right drug in the proper container, uses the wrong label, or dispenses the right drug with the wrong potency, he or she stands to lose in a medical malpractice case. In addition to administering the right drug in the right way, pharmacists are also responsible for knowing discrepancies in pills and whether or not a drug was recently altered by its maker.

Failure to Consider Other Medications

Before dispensing medication, a pharmacist must review the list of other medications that you are on. If he or she fails to do so, and if your new drug causes an adverse reaction with the other drugs, you may be able to sue the pharmacy for damages.

Negligent Acts by Others 

It is not uncommon for pharmacists to rely on assistants and techs to fill prescriptions and deliver them to patients. If an assistant or tech botches your prescription, you may be able to press charges against the pharmacist, the assistant, and the pharmacy in general.

Learn More About Your Rights Today

I you are the victim of a prescription error, you have rights. Contact the Miami medical malpractice lawyers at Spencer Morgan Law today to learn more about those rights and what you need to do to pursue a malpractice claim.

Resources:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5016741/

nap.edu/read/11623/chapter/15

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