Maui Medication Error Legal Representation
Pharmaceutical drugs are a major component of modern medical care. Health care providers may prescribe you a medication to take at home or administer a controlled substance to you at a medical facility. Whether you receive a medication in the hospital or fill a prescription at a pharmacy, you expect to receive the right drugs in safe and effective dosages. Unfortunately, medication errors happen all too often. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives more than 100,000 reports in the United States each year regarding suspected medication errors.
When you or a loved one sustain an injury because of a medication mistake in Hawaii, contact Menzer Law. Under Hawaii law, you may be entitled to pursue compensation through a medical malpractice claim.
When Does A Medication Error Constitute Medical Malpractice?
Prescription drugs have many potential beneficial effects. Even when a medication is appropriately prescribed or administered, you may suffer a serious complication or the drug may not effectively treat your condition. However, such negative outcomes are not automatically the result of medical negligence.
Medication errors constitute medical malpractice when the medical provider violates the applicable standard of care in regard to the dispensing of the medication and this violation causes you harm. You must be able to show that the medical provider committed an error in prescribing or administering that drug and you suffered a serious injury because of it.
Common Medication Errors In Hawaii
Our attorneys are ready to represent you in any medication errors claim, including those alleging:
- Prescription errors: Your physician may prescribe a drug that is inappropriate for your condition or that is appropriate for the condition but is in the wrong dose or form.
- Preventable allergic reactions: Physicians are responsible for taking your medical history and other precautions to avoid prescribing medications to which you are allergic. Doctors must also consider potential allergic interactions based on your known allergies and sensitivities.
- Preventable drug interactions: Physicians and pharmacists are responsible for understanding your medical history and current prescriptions. When various drugs are taken at the same time, it can lead to dangerous and fatal interactions.
- Pharmaceutical errors: Your physician may write you an appropriate prescription, only for a mistake to be made at the pharmacy. A pharmacist may misread a handwritten or electronic prescription. A pharmacist or technician may fill the prescription with the incorrect drug or dose.
- Failure to prescribe: Many injuries and conditions necessitate medication. For example, an antibiotic may be appropriate for a bacterial infection. A physician may be negligent for failing to prescribe you the proper medication to treat your injury or condition.
- Failure to administer: When you are on a certain drug regimen, you must receive the drug at certain times for it to be most effective. If a nurse or doctor fails to administer a drug when necessary, you may suffer a complication or the treatment may be ineffective.
- Improper administration: Many prescription medications must be administered in a certain way, at certain times and in certain doses. If a nurse or physician administers a drug to you improperly, you could suffer a serious injury.
- Failure to monitor: Physicians are responsible for monitoring their patients who are on certain drug regimens to prevent complications.
Call Menzer Law For Guidance Today
Medical malpractice claims based on medication errors can be complicated. When you contact Menzer Law, we will investigate the medication error and your injuries, retain the necessary expert witnesses and advise you of your legal options. Our attorneys have decades of experience handling medical malpractice cases. Call us today at 808.446.7374 or use our online form to schedule a free consultation.
