People today are fortunate that they can generally take medication to treat their ailments. They can use over-the-counter drugs to take care of minor problems, such as headaches, or they can benefit from prescription medication if their problem is serious enough to merit a doctor visit. But what happens when a healthcare worker makes a prescription drug mistake that has serious consequences to your health and well-being?
A skilled and experienced Miami prescription error lawyer has successfully handled a wide variety of claims involving medication errors. A medical malpractice attorney could help you review your legal options while standing up to protect your legal rights.
Patients can experience many different types of medication mistakes.
Physicians should ensure they prescribe drugs that are appropriate for treating the patient’s medical condition. Doctors should not experiment on patients by giving them drugs that have no proven history of success for their medical condition. Medical providers should carefully weigh the risks of a proposed new drug and ensure the drug’s purported benefits outweigh the potential risks.
Doctors are supposed to review their patient’s full medical history before giving them a new medication. They should ensure that the proposed new drug is appropriate for the patient by looking at their medical background. For instance, if the patient has an allergy to a certain class of drugs, doctors should know not to prescribe a medication in that class. Similarly, if a patient is taking another medication that could negatively counteract with a proposed additional drug, the doctor should be aware of that potential counteraction and hold off on prescribing the new drug until the patient is no longer taking the first medication.
Doctors should ensure they prescribe the correct dosage to their patients. Giving a toddler the same dosage as an adult could result in an overdose. Conversely, giving an adult too small a dosage could cause the adult’s medical condition to worsen due to a lack of necessary medication.
Nurses and other hospital employees should ensure they administer the correct drugs and dosages to the right patients. Doctors and other medical workers should also continue to monitor their patient while they are taking a new drug to see if the patient’s condition is responding to the drug and to check for side effects.
Physicians need to inform their patients of the potential side effects of a proposed prescription drug. If a doctor fails to tell a patient what to expect and the patient develops a serious complication, the doctor could be liable for violating the duty of informed consent.
Health consequences can occur when a pharmacist gives the wrong dosage or medication to a customer.
A seasoned Miami attorney has a proven track record of helping injured patients recover fair settlements or damages awards after experiencing harm from a wide range of prescription mistakes.
In order to establish liability and build a solid claim for malpractice based on a prescription mistake, a diligent Miami attorney could search for evidence linking the healthcare worker’s negligence to the patient’s injury. Our lawyers could help a patient gather supportive evidence, such as a physician’s prescription slip, medication bottles, and information sheets from a pharmacist. The legal team could consult with people familiar with the injured patient’s case and recognized medical experts to see where the mistake occurred.
Prescription mistakes should never occur. Doctors and other healthcare practitioners should recognize the seriousness of medication to ensure their patients are safe. When a prescription drug error occurs, you need answers. A skilled and trustworthy Miami prescription error lawyer could investigate what happened and help you understand your legal rights.
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