Seattle Medication Error Lawyers
Modern medicine relies heavily on medications to treat our ailments. Some of these medications, like over-the-counter painkillers and cold medicines, we take for granted. We purchase these medications and take them as needed without much thought. But these are the most benign of medications. When you are seriously ill or injured, a doctor may prescribe or administer different powerful drugs to treat you.
Most prescription medications need to be used carefully and cautiously for you to receive the greatest benefit and avoid as much risk as possible. When a pharmacist, nurse, or doctor becomes careless, and you become the victim of a medication error, you can suffer serious injuries and harms.
If you were injured or your condition worsened because of a medication error, do not hesitate to contact our medical and pharmacy malpractice lawyers in Seattle. Our attorneys at Menzer Law Firm are highly experienced in medication error claims and can pursue full and fair compensation for your injuries.
Adverse Drug Event Statistics
According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), adverse drug events “ADEs” occur when someone is injured and requires medical interventions related to drugs, including medication errors, adverse drug reactions, allergic reactions, and overdoses.
The ODPHP estimates that ADEs account for about 1 of every 3 adverse events that occur in hospitals, affecting approximately 2 million hospital patients each year. Overall, ADEs account for about 1 million emergency room visits, 125,000 hospital admissions, and more than 3.5 million doctor office visits every year.
These figures are significant but bear in mind, they do not account for all medication errors. You or a loved one can suffer harm from a medication error if you are given the wrong prescription by the pharmacist, if a physician fails to give you a prescription you need, your prescription is improperly or too quickly withdrawn, and many other circumstances not accounted for by the ODPHP statistics.
Types of Medication Errors
At Menzer Law Firm, our Seattle medication and pharmacy error lawyers handle claims arising from:
- Prescription errors: Prescribing errors occur all too often. A physician may write you a prescription for the incorrect drug, or the right medication in the wrong form or dose. The medication may be incorrect if it is not approved to treat your condition, interferes with your known allergies, or could interact with other medications.
- Failure to prescribe a drug: Your condition or illness may necessitate medication. However, your doctor may fail to write you the needed prescription and send you home without the proper care.
- Avoidable drug interactions: A physician or pharmacist could be responsible for prescribing and providing you with a drug that will likely or certainly adversely interact with another medication you are taking.
- Avoidable allergic reactions: A physician or pharmacist may be responsible for allowing you to take a medication you are allergic to or are likely to have an allergic reaction to, based on your medical history.
- Improper administration: Many medications need to be administered in a specific way to be safe and effective. You need to be given the correct form and dose of a medication at the correct time. If you are administered a drug improperly, you could suffer serious side effects.
- Failure to administer: In the hospital, a nurse may fail to administer a dose of a drug at the proper time. Failing to provide you with your medications can lead to serious side effects or make the drug ineffective in treating your condition.
- Pharmaceutical errors: A physician may prescribe you the proper medication but a pharmacist or assistant may make a mistake. You may go home with the wrong medication or with the incorrect dose.
- Monitoring errors: A physician’s failure to properly monitor your health and safety while you are on a certain drug can lead to you suffering serious side effects, including serious permanent injuries.
When Does a Medication Error Constitute Medical Malpractice?
If you believe you have been injured because of a medication error, talk with our Seattle medical malpractice attorneys as soon as possible.
Not all medication mistakes lead to successful medical malpractice claims. To have a valid legal claim and obtain compensation, you must be able to show that the physician, pharmacist, or other medical provider did not uphold their professional duty of care and, as a result of their negligence, you suffered a significant injury.
With the help of an experienced attorney and the right medical or pharmacy experts, you may be able to establish that the malpractice took place. An avoidable mistake related to some medication can be strong evidence that a medical provider failed to uphold their duty of care.
Were You the Victim of a Serious Medication Error?
If you suffered a serious injury because of a medical provider’s error, we recommend you contact Menzer Law Firm today. Our Seattle medical malpractice lawyers routinely handle medication error claims. We are here to gather evidence and investigate what happened. We will build you the strongest claim possible in order to pursue compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial injuries you have suffered.
Contact us online or call (206) 903-1818 to schedule a complimentary case review.
