When you are given medication, you expect the drugs to help treat a medical problem or relieve symptoms. Unfortunately, sometimes problems can arise that actually make your medical situation much worse. This can happen if a mistake is made during the process of prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication.
Problems with medications can have serious and sometimes even fatal consequences, especially when you are dealing with potent drugs in a hospital or clinical care setting. If you or someone you love was harmed by any medication mistakes, you may be entitled to compensation for the damage that resulted from the errors made with your meds.
The Montgomery medical malpractice attorneys at Singleton Schreiber are here to help. Our firm has a long history of fighting for those hurt by negligent medical care, including medication errors. Our Montgomery injury lawyers know how high the stakes are, and we offer compassionate advocacy as we aggressively fight for your right to recover for all of the damage done.
To find out how our Montgomery medication errors lawyers can help in the aftermath of a medication error, give us a call or contact us online today.
What Is A Medication Error And How Does One Occur?
A medication error occurs whenever you are given the wrong medication, the wrong dose of medication, or medication via the wrong method. Some of the different ways that medication errors can happen include:
- Providers not checking drug interactions or asking you about allergies.
- Providers failing to correctly identify which drug is best for your medical conditions.
- Providers prescribing the wrong drug, wrong dose, or wrong method of administration.
- Transcription errors or mistakes where doctors use the wrong abbreviations or drug names, and the incorrect medication goes on your chart.
- Drug administration errors in settings where providers administer medications, such as a nurse in a hospital giving you medication meant for a different patient, or giving you a different drug or dose than the one prescribed to you.
- Dispensing errors, which occur when pharmacists make mistakes in dispensing, such as providing the wrong drugs, failing to provide appropriate counseling, or mislabeling medications so you take the wrong dose.
These are just some of the ways that doctors, other healthcare providers, or pharmacists could make errors that end up causing you harm as a vulnerable patient.
Who Can Be Held Responsible For Medication Errors?
Medical providers and their employers can sometimes be considered legally liable for medication errors. That means they can be made to compensate you for the damage done by the mistake.
Doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical staff can all be held responsible when a medication error causes you harm if:
- Their acts or omissions are considered medical negligence, which means that no reasonably competent provider with similar training and experience would have done what your provider did, or failed to do what your provider failed to do.
- You were hurt as a direct result of their negligence, which means that you suffered some type of harm that you would not otherwise have experienced because of the medication error.
- You experienced damages that you can be compensated for. You should be compensated for any harm resulting from the incident, including any future medical bills you may need to pay due to the medication error, as well as time missed from work, pain and suffering, emotional distress, or lost companionship.
If the medication error resulted in fatalities, then surviving loved ones can pursue wrongful death damages as well.
In many cases, there is a lot of money at stake because being administered the wrong dose of medication can lead to serious harm that requires expensive care or that leaves you permanently impaired. That's why it is also important to identify all parties who are responsible under the law.
You may wish to work with your attorney to determine if you can take legal action not just against the provider but also against the healthcare facility employing that provider. In Alabama, employers are vicariously liable for on-the-job negligence of their workers, as well as for their own negligent policies, and they may have more insurance available to cover your losses.
By identifying all parties who can be made to compensate you, you can maximize the chances that you will be fully repaid for all the harm you endured - especially given that Alabama does not impose damage caps on malpractice claims, as these limitations on recovery were declared unconstitutional.
Finding The Right Montgomery Medication Errors Lawyer
Since there is often a significant amount of money at stake in malpractice claims, you'll want to make sure you have the right legal advocate to help you. Your Montgomery medication errors lawyer should:
- Have experience with these types of claims. You need a lawyer who has successfully represented clients harmed due to problems with medication in the past. Singleton Schreiber has helped many clients facing this issue, and we understand how to gather evidence and make a compelling case showing why the error with the drugs should not have happened and how it harmed you.
- Have a history of successful outcomes. Your ability to recover compensation depends on the specific facts of your case, but you still want a lawyer who has proven they can successfully win settlements and verdicts in similar circumstances. Singleton Schreiber has recovered large verdicts and settlements in medication error claims.
- Have strong negotiation skills. Ideally, your case will settle outside of court, but you should make sure your lawyer can negotiate a fair settlement. Singleton Schreiber has a solid reputation as a firm dedicated to fighting for our clients. Since insurers know we won't back down, they are more likely to make a fair offer so you can avoid the stress of court proceedings.
- Be prepared to go to court. Since many cases settle, there are some malpractice lawyers who have limited or no courtroom experience. This isn't the case at Singleton Schreiber. We are trial attorneys who know how to present strong cases, and we are not afraid to go the distance and take your case to trial when needed.
Call A Trusted Legal Professional Today
If you need a Montgomery medication errors lawyer whom you can count on to provide compassionate, knowledgeable legal advocacy, Singleton Schreiber is here and ready to help you. We don't charge legal fees unless we win, and your consultation is always free, so give us a call today to learn how we can help you.
