Prescription errors can be the result of health care professionals prescribing the wrong medication or wrong dose or improper administration by pharmacies. The results of prescription error can range from mild inconvenience to death. No matter how minor the outcome, prescription errors are a serious and dangerous form of negligence. Common results of prescription error include:
- Overdose
- No improvement of targeted condition
- Worsening of targeted condition
- Seizures
- Skin allergies
- Digestive problems
- Temporary physical impairment
- Temporary mental impairment
- Brain damage
- Paralysis
- Death
Prescription errors come in many forms and have many causes. Common prescription errors include:
- Wrong medication for targeted condition
- Wrong dose
- Failure to determine patient’s allergies
- Failure to determine other medications patient is taking
- Failure to determine medical condition which may make a medication dangerous to the patient
- Emergency rooms administering pain medication to intoxicated patients
- Administration of the wrong drug by pharmacies or hospitals
- Failure to provide current drug warnings
- Miscommunication of prescription information
- Inappropriate labeling when repackaging prescriptions
- Administration of experimental drugs without patient consent
Prescription errors can have short or long-term consequences. In addition to drug reactions themselves, patients can have accidents resulting from unexpected intoxication or impairment caused by prescription errors. Conditions left untreated, due to prescription errors can progress and become deadly.
Prescription error is negligence and it is entirely preventable. There are many possible responsible parties including doctors, nurses, emergency room staff, pharmacists, and sometimes pharmaceutical manufactures. Determining fault, when and where the error occurred and why, can be a complicated process. Determining how and why the mistake was made is necessary to proving prescription error and can help to prevent it from happening again. Victims of prescription error should not try to undertake this alone.
If you or a loved on has been the victim of prescription error contact an experienced prescription error attorney today.
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