Prescription
Drug Errors

Compensation for Prescription Mistakes in Miami

The medical industry has made many advancements in recent years. Today, many medical procedures and treatments are much safer than they once were. Unfortunately, the industry has not advanced very far when it comes to prescription medication. The majority of people have to take prescription medication at some point in their life and most of the time, these drugs work the way they are supposed to. Sadly though, errors do happen and when they do, patients suffer serious harm.

At Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, LLP, our Miami Medical Malpractice lawyers represent clients throughout South and Central Florida who have suffered serious injuries because of the negligence of medical professionals in prescribing or administering drugs. We also represent family members of patients who die. We have recovered substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients.

If you have been hurt, and need to evaluate your case, call us today at (305) 371-2692 for a free consultation. Below are some facts you should know about prescription mistakes:

Drug Dispensing Errors are Very Common

According to a study in the American Journal of Health-Systems, a pharmacy observed 50 pharmacists for one year. During that time, 62 percent of the pharmacists made a medication error when dispensing prescriptions. The FDA has also reported that it receives approximately 100,000 complaints pertaining to prescription drug mistakes every year. The statistics are alarming, and show just how common medication mistakes are.

Innovative Prescription Drug Study

Another study used data from Nova Scotia, Canada, which is the only province that requires reporting of medication errors. The reporting is anonymous, which gives medical providers an incentive to comply and provide accurate information.

The study found roughly 98,097 errors (called “quality-related events”) in Nova Scotia. Using these numbers, the authors extrapolated that roughly 3 million medication errors happen in the United States each year.

Of course, this is only an estimate. It might be the case that Canada sees more or fewer medication errors than the United States, so using Canadian data should be viewed with some caution. Nevertheless, the study suggests that medication errors are more widespread than many people have feared.

Most Common Prescription Drug Mistakes

The average in-patient in a hospital receives nine or ten different prescription medications. With a person taking that many drugs, it is easy to see how a mistake could occur. Drugs are sometimes overprescribed, resulting in patients taking a drug they do not really need. In other instances, medications are over-administered, which can result in an overdose.  The more drugs a patient is prescribed, the chances of a prescription mistake increase.

Doctors must always fully evaluate the drugs they prescribe their patients and the amount of drugs they prescribe to ensure mistakes do not happen. They should also evaluate the need for prescription drugs after a patient is discharged from the hospital.

There are various types of prescription drug errors, some of which include:

• Doctor prescribed the wrong medication
• Doctor prescribed the correct medication, but the nurse administered the wrong prescription or incorrect dosage
• Pharmacist filled prescription incorrectly
• Medication was mislabeled
• Equipment malfunction (inaccurately distributing doses)
• Prescribing medications the patient is allergic to
• Prescribing medications that directly interfere with other medications the patient is currently taking

Being deprived of the correct medicine is another known medication error: Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, LLP Medical lawyers represented the family of a man who died of a stroke when he was administered anti seizure medicines instead of the high blood pressure drug he needed.

Prescription Medication Inaccuracy are Very Expensive

Not only are Medication errors very harmful, but they are also very expensive. According to the Institute of Medicine, medication errors cost Americans $3.5 billion in lost productivity, lost wages, and medical expenses every year.

The effects of taking falsely prescribed medications will vary greatly for each patient. Some of those reasons may include:

• Lost wages or inability to work due to side effects of wrongly prescribed medication
• New healthcare issues that derived from incorrect medication
• Needing extra medical care due to error in medication
• Costs associated with extra medical care from drug error
• Pain and suffering cause by drug error

At least 1.5 million Americans are harmed each year by prescription medication errors, according to a 2006 study commissioned by Congress. The Institute of Medicine also concluded that at least one-fourth of prescription drug mistakes were preventable.

The Five ‘Rights’ for Doctors to Avoid Medication Errors

When drugs are administered, there are five ‘rights’ doctors and pharmacists should check, and then double check. These are the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right time, and the right route. When these rights are not double-checked, a medication mistake can easily occur while simply checking them can help avoid most, if not all, medication errors.

Our Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Help

Medication mistakes are very serious and cause patients some of the most severe injuries. At Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein, our Miami medical malpractice lawyer can provide the sound legal advice you need to hold the providers accountable. We are committed to helping victims recover the full compensation they deserve, and we can help you, too. Call us now at (305) 371-2692 or fill our contact form to request a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.