The lawyers at Kennedy Hodges L.L.P. have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions in response to the overwhelming number of people who have suffered an injury after receiving the wrong prescription, wrong dosage, or incorrect instructions for use from their pharmacy. If you have been injured due to the negligence of another person, read on to learn how to protect your legal rights.
If your loved one died as a result of pharmacy negligence, you need to work with a skilled attorney to pursue a claim for your damages, losses, and mental anguish. In fact, what attorney and law firm you hire is very important to your claim. It will help your claim if you can find an attorney who is experienced in pharmacy malpractice claims.
Here are the following things we can offer your case:
- Complimentary consultation – You can call us at 888-526-7616 or we can meet with you to answer your questions and help you understand what rights you are entitled to under the law.
- Accessibility – If you hire our law firm to handle your case, you will have direct access to our attorneys. If we are in court at the time of your phone call, we will call you back as soon as possible.
- Individual attention – By choosing our law firm for your case, we will hold your hand as we walk you through the process. We want to educate you and provide you with all of information and the attention you deserve.
- Experience – If you hire our law firm, you can rest assured that our attorneys are experienced in this field of law and know what it takes to win your case.
- Successful results – By picking our law firm for your claim, we will be happy to show you our past successes and how we have been able to successfully help clients in similar situations.
- Free resources – We have many helpful articles, blogs, and frequently asked questions and answers—as well as books that you can receive for free. We encourage you to download your free copy of How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.
When something serious occurs such as an injury or health complication as a result of receiving the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage of drugs from the pharmacy, it is critical that you have the right attorney on your side. Not all lawyers are created equal or focus on the same area of law. Having an attorney with the right experience in the field of law your case is in can make all the difference to your case outcome.
When deciding which attorney to hire and handle your claim, it is important that you find out if he or she can answer “yes” to the following five questions:
- Do you have experience handling pharmacy malpractice cases?
- Have you had your license to practice law for over five years?
- Are you board certified in personal injury law?
- Have you tried cases in court?
- Have you had successful results in similar cases?
When looking for a lawyer for your pharmacy malpractice case, you should hire an attorney who understands pharmacy error cases and laws that apply to pharmacies. Having an attorney who has substantial experience in pharmacy malpractice cases and is a board certified lawyer can make a huge difference in your case.
If you don’t think the attorney that you hire will make a difference, think again. A skilled pharmacy attorney will get you the compensation you need and deserve. If you would like to set up a free consultation with our pharmacy malpractice lawyers, contact us today.
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- Prescription Drug Labels Need Serious Overhaul to Keep Patients Safe
Patients frequently receive prescription medications with directions that are simply unclear. Unfortunately, this confusion leads patients to taking incorrect drug dosages—all because drug labels differ from pharmacy to pharmacy. Because there is still no national standardization of prescription labels, drug directions are written in different ways, creating patient confusion.
However, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention has recommended new safety standards for prescription labels to help clear up some of the confusion surrounding the way labels read. Because the way labels are written vary from drugstore to drugstore and from state to state, many would like to see a nationwide standard be adopted. However, as of now, the labels are monitored by each state board of pharmacy and not the Food and Drug Administration.
While many pharmacies are making label changes to reduce pharmacy errors, it may be a while before standardized prescription labeling is in effect. However, the good news is that last year, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy passed a resolution supporting the standardized labeling process.
Once a standardized medication label is adopted, some of the confusing things listed below will be cleared up. There are sayings on pill bottles which are stated differently that will hopefully be written in one way in the near future, such as:
- Take two pills daily could mean to some patients that they should take two pills a day and others may interpret it as two pills twice a day.
- Instructions could indicate take by mouth, take orally, or take per oral route. Although these phrases mean the same thing, it should be written in the same way to clear up confusion.
When labels are written in a different way every time, it can create patient confusion, which is why label standardization needs to take place.
Please share this information with others, and we will be sure to keep our readers posted about the adoption of standardized prescription labeling in the future.
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- Major Pharmacy Chains Have Multiple Problems that Lead to Medication Errors
- How Pharmacists Fill the Wrong Drug
Yes. If you suffered injuries as a result of getting the wrong drug, the pharmacy in question should be held accountable. Far too often, Walgreens pharmacies and other pharmacy chains around this nation attempt to limit their liability when something goes wrong. They do this by letting the customer know they are sorry for the inconvenience and offering them a gift card to the store.
When a pharmacy makes this gesture, they are admitting wrong, and you may be entitled to more than a small gift card. You may have a lawsuit for your medical bills, mental anguish, and other damages. If you suffered injuries that cost you money in medical bills and lost income due to time away from work, you should have a claim for compensation.
To find out what your case may be worth or whether or not you have a valid prescription drug error lawsuit, you should contact an experienced lawyer who has successfully handled pharmacy error claims. An attorney will be able to review your case to determine if you should be compensated for your injuries, medical expenses, and other damages after receiving the wrong drug.
Unfortunately, pharmacy mistakes occur far too often, and chain pharmacies that put pressure on their staff to work at a fast-pace often make many mistakes. Pharmacists have a duty of care to fill the correct medicine and double check it before customers receive their medication. When they fail to do this, they can be held accountable for the consequences of their careless actions. For legal advice, contact Kennedy Hodges for a free consultation today at 888-526-7616.
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- Understanding Massachusetts Pharmacy Error Laws
- The Seriousness of Pharmacy Malpractice
There aren’t any specific laws that require all pharmacy malpractice cases to settle or go to trial. Whether a case goes to trial or settles outside of court really depends on case specifics and how the other side responds to the lawsuit. While there isn’t a set standard, most malpractice cases end up going to trial for a multitude of reasons.
The reason your case may end up in trial typically has everything to do with the pharmacist involved as well as the pharmacy and their insurers and lawyers. The insurance company and attorneys for the other side will typically drag out litigation as long as they can. However, the court will make them participate in a formal settlement discussion with you and your attorney.
Sometimes, a settlement discussion will lead to a decision in which both parties agree to a dollar amount. However, insurers and attorneys for the other side often don’t want to give victims the amount their cases are worth. This is why pharmacy malpractice lawsuits in most states proceed to trial. It is always a good idea to be prepared that your case could go all the way to trial and know that cases of this nature take around two years—give or take a bit—to resolve.
It is also critical that you have an attorney skilled in handling pharmacy malpractice claims and knows how to prepare your case for trial in order to get you the compensation you need and deserve. For great legal representation, contact Kennedy Hodges for a free consultation today at 888-526-7616.
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It may shock you to find out that you were given the wrong medication from your pharmacy. Then you will be flabbergasted to know that every day people receive incorrect drugs as a result of pharmacy negligence. Whether a pharmacist filled the wrong medicine, mixed up your prescription with another’s, or filled the wrong dosage of the correct drug—the effects can range from minor to severe.
What You Should Know About Medication Mistakes
After discovering that you have been taking the wrong prescription drugs, you should call the pharmacy to notify them of their mistake and ask them if there are any side effects you should watch out for. However, if you have already experienced a reaction or complication from taking the wrong meds, it is critical to your health that you seek medical care immediately. Talk to your doctor to find out just how serious this pharmacy error is and if you will have any long-term effects.
Additionally, don’t throw anything away, as it can serve as proof that you received the wrong medication. Keep everything you received—such as the pill bottle, instructions, and any remaining medication to be used as evidence in a potential claim against CVS. Do not accept compensation from a pharmacy when they call to apologize about the medication mix-up. Instead, you should contact a lawyer to find out more about your rights.
Sadly, serious harm can occur from taking the wrong prescription. If you have been the victim of a pharmacy error, you should call us today at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation to learn about your rights.
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- Think Twice Before Putting Your Health in the Hands of Walgreens Pharmacist
- Injured from Wrong Dosage? A Walgreens Lawsuit May Be Your Answer
Getting a prescription filled at a 24-hour Walgreens pharmacy may sound like a good thing, as they are convenient for those who work long hours, have a hectic life, or have developed an urgent condition and need medication—even in the middle of the night. However, it is a well-known fact that humans are built to sleep at night, which may be one of the reasons pharmacists who work night shifts are not as alert and are prone to making mistakes.
When people work overnight, they often suffer from sleep deprivation and lack the proper amount of sleep to be able to function sufficiently and safely. This means that a pharmacist may not be thinking clearly or processing things correctly. In fact, it may be easy for a pharmacist working overnight to misread a prescription, fill the wrong drug or wrong dosage, and ultimately put patients in danger.
Whether working day or night shifts, all pharmacists have the potential for making medication mistakes. For this reason, it is best to always double check your prescription at the pharmacy in front of a pharmacist. Compare the name of the prescription with the doctor’s original order. If there is a name change, ask if it is a generic version or why there is a different name on the pill bottle than what the doctor prescribed. Not only should you look at the drug name, but you should pull out the medication and read the dosage information, instructions, and look at the pills or medication.
By reviewing the medication in front of the pharmacist and taking advantage of the pharmacist consultation, pharmacy errors at Walgreens and at other pharmacies will likely be caught. However, sometimes pharmacists don’t catch their mistakes, which is why you may need to ask questions or bring up concerns if something doesn’t seem right.
If you have suffered harm due to a Walgreens pharmacy error, please contact Kennedy Hodges at 888-526-7616 to speak with a pharmacy error attorney about filing a Walgreens pharmacy claim today.
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Which Party Can I Hold Liable for Pharmacy Malpractice?
Who Is Responsible for My Injuries When Multiple Drugs Interacted?
Typically, when a medication error occurs at a hospital, many parties could be involved—including nurses, doctors, and pharmacists. When a prescription error happens at a pharmacy, there are also many possible parties liable, such as pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.
In order to determine which party is liable for your damages, you should contact an attorney who is experienced in handling medication error cases. This way, a thorough investigation can be conducted to determine if a doctor prescribed the wrong medication, the nurse did not spot the doctor’s error, or the pharmacist filled the prescription as written without noticing the problem. Sometimes, the hospital or pharmacy may be liable parties in addition to nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.
When patients are harmed due to medication errors, there might not be one person or party fully liable. Instead, there may be flaws with the system and multiple parties involved in the medical mistake. If a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist failed to double check a prescription for accuracy and failed to provide a patient with the standard duty of care, a patient can file a claim for negligence.
Sometimes, there are different percentages of blame involved. For example, a doctor or hospital may be partially to blame for prescribing the wrong medication or wrong dosage of medication, but the pharmacy or pharmacist may also share in the blame for filling the wrong drug or incorrect dose of drug.
To find out which party you may be able to hold liable for your medical bills and pain and suffering, contact Kennedy Hodges today for a free initial consultation with a skilled pharmacy error lawyer at 888-526-7616 today.
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Children at Risk of Fatal Medication Errors While Under Hospital Care
Receiving the Wrong Dose of an IV Medication
No doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or other medical care worker sets out to purposely give patients the wrong dosage of drugs; however, dosage errors still occur far too often. Sadly, hundreds of thousands of people are injured every year as a result of receiving the wrong drug dosage.
Although we trust doctors, hospital workers, and pharmacists to give us the correct medication, they are all human. As a result, they make human errors—even though they are trained professionals. Many medication mistakes happen when people rush, are distracted, or misread a prescription or label.
Unfortunately, hospital patients are vulnerable to medication mistakes, as they often lay in bed while nurses administer medications into intravenous (IV) drug-delivery systems. While most medications in hospitals are administered correctly, there are many IV errors that occur involving the wrong dosage. When the incorrect drug dosage is placed into an IV bag, a patient is unaware. Additionally, there are no systems in place nationwide to alert hospital workers and patients that the wrong dosage has been filled into the IV bag.
Sometimes, medication mistakes, like wrong dosages, are not discovered until it is too late—after people have suffer serious injuries or death. As a result, there are companies working on developing systems that would detect if the wrong drugs or wrong dosage of drugs are placed into IV bags. Hopefully, this new technology will increase patient safety and decrease medication errors involving wrong dosages. Until then, people will sadly still suffer from wrong dosages in hospitals.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a wrong drug dosage at a hospital, please contact a qualified medication error lawyer at Kennedy Hodges today for a free initial consultation at 888-526-7616 to find out your rights.
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When Wrong Medication Is Given to Texas Nursing Home Patients
Has Your Loved One Been Given the Wrong Medication in a Nursing Home?
Rising Cases of Nursing Home Over-Medication Worries Symposium Leaders
You should be able to see some red flags alerting you that your mother may be receiving the wrong prescription or an overdose of medication. In order to determine if your elderly family member is a victim of medication-related abuse in a nursing home, you and other family members should visit often. It is best to visit your mother at times when she is supposed to receive medication. This way you can watch the staff member dispense the drugs to her.
However, we know that you cannot be at the nursing home every day and for every medication administration. This is why you should become familiar with the following warning signs, such as:
- Erratic behavior changes
- Development of odd physical symptoms
- Disorientation
- Excessive fatigue and exhaustion
- Takes more naps than usual
- Forgets more than usual and gets easily confused
- Withdrawing from visits
If your mother is receiving someone else’s medication or too much medicine, the ramifications can be serious. It is possible that your mother isn’t being treated properly for her own condition if she is receiving medication intended for another resident. For example, what if the nursing home is giving her someone else’s cholesterol medicine instead of her high blood pressure medication? The side effects of receiving another drug can be dangerous, and skipping doses of her high blood pressure pills may cause the medication to be ineffective.
If you believe your mother is being given the wrong prescription drugs or an overdose of drugs, contact our skilled medication error lawyers at Kennedy Hodges today for a free initial consultation at 888-526-7616.