Prescription Errors, Medication Mistakes and Drug Defects:
- One-third of adults take 5 or more medications every day.
- Adverse Drug Events account for nearly 700,000 emergency room visits and 100,000 hospitalizations every year.
- Multiple studies have demonstrated that between 380,000 – 450,000 preventable medication errors occur in hospitals each year.
- Another study has shown that 800,000 preventable adverse drug events occur each year in long-term care facilities.
- A study of Medicare patients reveals that 530,000 preventable adverse drug events occur each year.
- At least 1.5 million preventable adverse drug events occur in the United States each year.
- According to the Institute of Medicine’s 2006 report, “Preventing Medication Errors,” these 1.5 million patients cost $3.5 billion in lost productivity, wages, and additional medical expenses.
It is estimated that 50% of adverse drug events are preventable.
Opioid Addiction is a National Epidemic
Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illicit drug heroin, as well as the licit prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and fentanyl.
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine:
- Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 47,055 lethal drug overdoses in 2014. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers, and 10,574 overdose deaths related to heroin in 2014.
- From 1999 to 2008, overdose death rates, sales and substance use disorder treatment admissions related to prescription pain relievers increased in parallel. The overdose death rate in 2008 was nearly four times the 1999 rate; sales of prescription pain relievers in 2010 were four times those in 1999; and the substance use disorder treatment admission rate in 2009 was six times the 1999 rate.
- In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids, which is more than enough to giveevery American adult their own bottle of pills.
- Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers. As a consequence, the rate of heroin overdose deaths nearly quadrupled from 2000 to 2013. During this 14-year period, the rate of heroin overdose showed an average increase of 6% per year from 2000 to 2010, followed by a larger average increase of 37% per year from 2010 to 2013.
- 94% of respondents in a 2014 survey of people in treatment for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “far more expensive and harder to obtain.”
Notably, the prescribing rates for prescription opioids among adolescents and young adults has nearly doubled from 1994 to 2007. And, as women are more likely to have chronic pain, they are more likely to be prescribed prescription pain relievers, be given higher doses, and use them for longer time periods than men.
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)