The resources listed below provide additional information about prescription errors, medication mistakes and drug defects.
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS
- The Food and Drug Administration’s Division of Medication Error Prevention and Analysis (DMEPA) reviews medication error reports on marketed human drugs including prescription drugs, generic drugs, and over-the-counter drugs. The DMEPA define a medication error as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.” A number of communications and alerts have been published relating to the following medications:
- According The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), there are ten factors that lead to medication errors, as follows:
- patient information
- drug information
- adequate communication
- drug packaging, labeling, and nomenclature
- medication storage, stock, standardization, and distribution
- drug device acquisition, use, and monitoring
- environmental factors
- staff education and competency
- patient education
- quality processes and risk management.
- The Institute of Medicine has published the following, Preventing Medication Errors, which addresses adverse drug events, causes, and policy recommendations for prevention.
OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS
- According to Prevention.com, “Americans have access to over 100,000 different over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Yet in two nationwide polls, half of all adults surveyed admitted to making dangerous OTC drug mistakes.” Prevention.com offers tips to avoid such mistakes.
DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
- In an October 14, 2015 article published in The New York Times, a study conducted by the federal government found that injuries caused by dietary supplements “lead to more than 20,000 emergency room visits a year, many involving young adults with cardiovascular problems after taking supplements marketed for weight loss and energy enhancement.” The study entitled, “Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements,” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Your Case. Our Cause.
We Hold Manufacturers, Pharmacies and Healthcare Providers Accountable for Their Mistakes.
What Kinds of Errors Happen in a Pharmacy?
- Putting the wrong drug into the patient’s prescription bottle;
- Putting the wrong dose of a medication into the patient’s prescription bottle;
- Giving a patient a different patient’s medication;
- Failing to advise the patient how to take the medication properly;
- Failing to advise the patient of potential side effects or drug interactions;
- Failure to call the ordering doctor for clarification if a prescription note is illegible; and
- Improperly filling the prescription for a patient.
What Kinds of Medication Mistakes Happen by Healthcare Providers?
- Administering the wrong drug to the right patient;
- Administering the right drug to the wrong patient;
- Failing to advise the patient how to take the medication properly;
- Failing to advise the patient of potential side effects or drug interactions; and
- Failing to monitor the patient for adverse reactions and side effects.
What Kinds of Drug Defects Occur?
- Manufacturing Defects, meaning that the drug was manufactured improperly or has been contaminated and causes harm to the person who ingests it;
- Side-Effect Defects, meaning that the drug was manufactured properly, but has an unexpected or unreasonable side effect resulting in harm to certain persons who ingest it; and
- Warning Defects, meaning that the drug packaging or marketing did not include proper instructions, warnings, or recommendations for how to use the drug.
If there is no recovery to you, there is no fee to us.
The attorneys at Freiwald Law, P.C. hold doctors, nurses, hospitals, technicians, pharmacists, pharmacies and any other negligent parties accountable for injuries sustained due to a prescription error, medication mistake and/or drug defect. We will launch a full investigation, and will prosecute all meritorious claims to achieve a just result for you and your family. Victims of these types of errors may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical bills
- Cost of Medical care
- Lost of income
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
Medication errors happen more often than we know. They often go unreported and can have traumatic consequences. If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of a prescription error, medication mistake or drug defect, Contact Us for an evaluation of your potential claims.
Call Our Toll-Free Number: 844.793.7767 (844 RX ERROR)