Medication errors can cause serious harm. The wrong drug or the wrong dosage may damage organs and other systems. It may lead to hospitalization, disability, birth defects, and even death.
If you suffered harm after being given a drug, a Los Angeles medication errors lawyer may be able to help you obtain a financial settlement to compensate you for your injuries. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 970-4884 to discuss your case and your legal options with a member of our staff.
How Can Medication Errors Happen?
A medication error may occur if a doctor prescribes a drug that is not appropriate for a patient’s condition. This may happen if a provider had insufficient training, made a lapse in judgment, or confused the names of two drugs.
A medication error may happen if a patient has multiple health conditions and the individual’s records are incomplete or providers do not communicate with each other. Some drugs are safe on their own but can cause life-threatening complications if they are taken in combination with other medications. Doctors and nurses have a responsibility to make sure that a patient’s records are up to date before prescribing a drug or changing a dosage. A healthcare provider should also ask about a patient’s allergies to avoid prescribing a drug that could trigger an allergic reaction.
A pharmacist has a duty, or standard, of care to keep track of all the medications a patient takes, as well as that person’s allergies, and to look out for potential problems before filling a prescription. If a pharmacist fails to notice that a prescribed medication could pose a risk to an individual, the pharmacist may be held liable for resulting injuries.
Sometimes the wrong medication or dosage is ordered or prescribed due to a simple clerical error. If the wrong drug or dosage is dispensed because of a doctor’s bad handwriting, the physician who wrote the prescription and/or the pharmacist who failed to check the order may be held liable for the patient’s injuries.
A drug may be administered incorrectly in a hospital setting or in a doctor’s office. For example, some medications need to be injected into the muscle, while others must be injected into the bloodstream.
The medical profession has safeguards in place to catch mistakes and to prevent dangerous medication errors. According to the National Institutes of Health, each medical professional carries the same standard of care. Providers who fail to spot errors can share the blame for the harm that patients suffer. If a pharmacist does not review a patient’s other medications or allergies before filling a prescription or if a nurse does not question a dosage that is abnormally large or small, that individual may be held liable for a patient’s injuries.
How a Los Angeles Medication Errors Lawyer May Be Able to Seek Justice for You
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm may be able to help you seek compensation if you suffered harm due to a medication error. We have assisted clients across the United States who experienced personal injuries caused by medication errors and other acts of negligence, as defined by the Legal Information Institute.
One or more parties may be liable in a case involving a medication error. The doctor who prescribed a drug, the pharmacist who filled the prescription, a nurse who administered the medication in a hospital, and the drug manufacturer may all be held liable, depending on the circumstances.
Meeting the standard of proof to hold a medical professional accountable for a medication error is complex. An attorney will need to show that the healthcare provider did not act with the level of care that another provider with similar training and knowledge would have provided and must also demonstrate that the substandard care a patient received directly caused the patient’s harm.
The team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can review your medical records, statements from you and members of your family, and testimony from your doctor and other healthcare professionals. We may also seek advice from medical experts to learn whether the treatment you received met the standard of care. We can pursue a claim to compensate you for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
We may find that one or more parties were negligent and may file a personal injury lawsuit. While we can settle many cases out of court, our Los Angeles medication errors lawyers are not afraid to take a case to trial if we believe that is necessary to obtain fair compensation for a client’s injuries.
For a free legal consultation with a Medication Errors Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 970-4884
Contact a Los Angeles Medication Errors Lawyer
Many people who have experienced personal injuries do not seek legal representation because they are concerned about the cost. Pintas & Mullins Law Firm operates on a contingency basis. That means that clients who ask us to represent them in personal injury cases do not have to pay us any money up front. We are only paid if we secure a financial award for a client’s injuries.
The window of opportunity to seek compensation for your injuries is limited. Under California Statute § 340.5, the general time limit to file a medical malpractice claim is three years from the date of injury, or one year from the date when a plaintiff discovered or should have discovered an injury, whichever occurs first.
Since cases involving medication errors are often complex, and since so many parties may be at least partially liable, investigating may take a significant amount of time. The sooner you contact us, the sooner our Los Angeles medication errors lawyer team will be able to begin gathering evidence and building a case. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 970-4884 to get the process started.
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