Have you suffered an injury after a prescription or pharmacy error? Get the answers you need to protect your rights.

Related Links: What Are Some of the Common Causes of Pharmaceutical Malpractice in Hospitals? The Seriousness of Pharmacy Malpractice

The Law Office of Kennedy Hodges is saddened to hear of your loss. If your mother’s passing was caused by a fatal overdose, there could be many possible parties to blame. Depending upon where and how the overdose occurred can help determine the number of parties that could be held responsible in your pharmacy malpractice case.

Many injuries and fatalities that occur as a result of malpractice happen because nurses, doctors, and pharmacists fail to provide a duty of care to patients. Those who prescribe drugs and administer drugs have a duty to ensure the correct drug and the right dosages are provided. Unfortunately, people can be in a hurry and fail to double check prescriptions for accuracy.

For example, if your mother was given too high of a dose of a drug in the hospital and died as a result, then the hospital could be to blame. In the event your mother suffered fatal injuries as a result of negligence on the part of a hospital employee, the hospital as well as the negligent party could hold different percentages of the blame. In the event a doctor wrote out a correct prescription and a pharmacist filled the wrong dose—a fatal dose—a pharmacist and pharmacy could be liable for the death of your loved one. As you can see, there are many possible negligent parties you could file a claim against.

To find out which specific party or multiple parties that your family may have a claim against, contact a qualified Texas pharmacy malpractice attorney at Kennedy Hodges today for a free initial consultation at 888-526-7616.

Related Links Hospital pharmacist dispensing errors  Reasons patients receive wrong medications

If you were given the wrong medication by a nurse, doctor, or hospital pharmacist and you suffered seizures, you most likely have a case for pharmaceutical malpractice. While you may not consider a seizure to be a serious side-effect of getting the incorrect medication, it is serious, as they may cause further damage to your health.

Although rare, a severe seizure can cause brain damage; however, usually multiple severe seizures are needed to cause this type of injury. Your doctor should conduct an electroencephalogram (EEG) following your seizure, and the hospital should be responsible for your medical costs associated with this medication error.

When patients are put at needless risk due to a pharmacy error or negligence on the part of a nurse or doctor, hospitals should be held accountable. Healthcare workers have a duty of care to patients and shouldn’t cause patients further harm. While we understand all humans make mistakes, health care workers have to be diligent so that medication and pharmacy errors don’t occur and cause injuries to patients.

An experienced pharmacy malpractice attorney can help you bring a claim against the hospital for your medical bills, hospital expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. It is critical to hold the negligent party responsible so that these errors don’t continue to occur. Additionally, if you do need ongoing medical care, you deserve adequate compensation so that you receive the treatment you need.

If you would like to discuss your wrong medication lawsuit, please call our knowledgeable medication error attorneys at Kennedy Hodges at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

Related Links Side effects of wrong prescription dosage Walgreens pharmacists’ errors cause injuries Incorrect drug dose from a Walgreens pharmacy can be dangerous

If you notice a medication dose the pharmacist filled is too low or too high from what the doctor prescribed, ask the pharmacist if a mistake occurred. Far too many people trust what the pharmacist gives them, but pharmacists have been known to make mistakes. Alas, many Walgreens pharmacy mistakes aren’t caught before taking the wrong dosage of medication. If this is the case, watch for dizziness, nausea, or any other physical illness and contact a doctor immediately.

Unfortunately, incorrect prescription dosages as a result of pharmacists’ errors can be very dangerous and have been associated with the following harmful side effects:

• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Physical sickness (i.e., worsened previous state or development of unrelated condition)
• Allergic reaction
• Infection
• Liver failure
• Kidney failure
• Heart problems (e.g., stroke, heart attack)
• Psychological effects
• Catastrophic injuries
• Brain damage
• Paralysis
• Death

As you can see from the aforementioned list, the dangers of an accidental overdose are many and can vary in severity. Even nausea can result in missing work and lost wages, yet the most minor injury as a result of a Walgreens pharmacy error shouldn’t be ignored because it can be a sign of a later, more serious complication.

If you were harmed in any way as a result of an incorrect dosage due to pharmacy negligence, you have a right to be compensated for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. Contact an experienced Walgreens pharmacy error attorney at Kennedy Hodges at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

Related Links Preventing children's drug dosage errors How kids suffer from prescription mistakes Why children are vulnerable to serious medication mistakes

If your son or daughter was prescribed acetaminophen for cough and cold symptoms, there are some things you should know about giving children too much acetaminophen. Many people are not worried about this drug because it is the active ingredient in Tylenol; however, an acetaminophen overdose is easy to do, especially when a spoon is used. Unfortunately, it is a common drug dosage error spooned up to children.

Sometimes children receive too much medication, such as acetaminophen, in the following ways:

• Parents use the wrong size spoon instead of the correct instrument to measure out the liquid medication.
• Children get their hands on the bottle and think it’s a drink or candy.
• Doctors prescribe an adult dose of the drug to a child.
• Pharmacists fill the incorrect dose or don’t catch a doctor’s dosing mistake.

When children ingest too much acetaminophen, there are serious consequences, such as a toxic reaction and the liver’s ability to process too much acetaminophen. Although it may not seem like a life-threatening concern, an excessive overdose of liquid acetaminophen can cause serious life-threatening liver problems. In fact, health complications like liver failure or death can occur. Sometimes, the liver is severely damaged from taking too much acetaminophen that a liver transplant is required.

This is why it is important that doctors prescribe the correct dose and pharmacists accurately fill a child’s dosage. It is also critical that parents check the medication for accuracy—verifying their child’s information—and only give kids this medication according to the directions and with the correct measuring device.

If your child suffered due to an acetaminophen overdose due to a pharmacy error, please contact Kennedy Hodges to speak with a pharmacy malpractice attorney at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

Related Links What to do if Walgreens gives out wrong medication Texas pharmacy dosage errors Medication mistake by a Texas pharmacist

It is important to find out if you are taking the correct medication. Most people assume that pharmacists fill their prescription correctly, but pharmacists have been known to hand customers the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of drug, or provide the wrong instructions that would cause patients to take the right medication too many times a day. Because there could be many reasons for why you are feeling sick, you should take the following steps:

• Call your local Walgreens. Ask the pharmacist about your prescription. What medication did they fill? What was the dosage? How many times a day should you take the drug? Compare the information they give you to the prescription label on your pill bottle to see if they filled the wrong drug, dispensed the wrong dose, or provided the wrong instructions.
• Call your doctor. Find out from your doctor what the original prescription was for and compare that information to what the pharmacy told you about your prescription. Inform your doctor if you have been taking the wrong medication or the incorrect dose.
• Go to the hospital. Your doctor may want to see you immediately or have you go to the emergency room to be checked out by a physician. Don’t ignore this instruction, as it is critical to your health and potential pharmacy malpractice case.
• Call a Walgreens pharmacy error attorney. If the pharmacy provided you with the wrong drug or dose, you may have a legal claim for compensation. You should contact a lawyer immediately, specifically an attorney who focuses on pharmacy malpractice claims.

If you need help holding a negligent pharmacist accountable for the health injuries you suffered, call Kennedy Hodges today to speak with a skilled pharmacy error attorney at 888-526-7616 in a free consultation.

Related Links Patients receive wrong prescriptions from pharmacists Causes of pharmacy malpractice claims

Pharmacy malpractice cases typically require the testimony of an expert, also known as an expert witness. Average jurors, and even judges for that matter, aren’t expected to know if a pharmacist did something wrong. This is why the expertise and knowledge of experts can help in a pharmacy malpractice case. For example, an expert witness can explain to a jury what an average pharmacist is expected to know and do.

When it comes to pharmacy malpractice cases, an expert in the field will be able to gain the most trust from the judge or jury. If an expert told the court that no reasonable pharmacist would have filled the wrong medication, failed to warn, or made a certain dispensing error, the judge and jury would tend to believe the expert. Having a respected pharmacist expert on your side will assist you in providing key information that can help render a decision in your favor.

Additionally, experts are allowed to express their opinions as to whether the pharmacist in question provided the standard of care that a patient is due. If a pharmacy expert does not testify, there is greater chance that negligence isn’t established and the case may be dismissed. When an expert witness testifies, a juror may better understand that a pharmacist breached his or her standard of care.

When pursuing a pharmacy malpractice claim against a negligent pharmacist or pharmacy, you should hire a skilled pharmacy error attorney to make sure your case is thoroughly prepared so that you can get the best outcome possible. Call Kennedy Hodges today to speak with a knowledgeable Texas pharmacy malpractice lawyer at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

Related Links Child prescription errors Advice to avoid pediatric medication mistakes

Unfortunately, there are breakdowns during the dispensing process involving adult and child prescriptions. The reasons vary, but pediatric medication mistakes could be caused by one of the following:

• Leaving prescription information on voicemail. When doctor’s offices phone in prescriptions, they sometimes leave the order on a pharmacy’s voicemail. When the doctor’s office doesn’t spell out the drug name, sound out the dose, provide the indication, and use both generic and brand names on the voicemail, pharmacy errors can occur. This is because the person listening to the voicemail can interpret the prescription name differently due to an accent, mumbling, or background noise. Instead, pharmacies should ask for the necessary information on their outgoing voicemail greeting to reduce the risk.
• Failure to scan the original prescription. When pharmacies do not scan in the original prescription image, dispensing errors during refills can occur due to mistakes as data entry is completed. To avoid this, having the original prescription image displayed for verification can reduce dispensing errors during the refill process.
• Multitasking. When pharmacists work on filling more than one prescription at a time, the wrong medication can get dispensed, and dosage mistakes can occur. In order to reduce this, pharmacists and pharmacy techs should only fill one prescription at a time.
• Pulling the wrong stock medication off of the shelf. When pharmacy techs and pharmacists fill medication, sometimes they grab the wrong medication because it sounds-alike or looks-alike.
• Failing to provide patient counseling. Because pharmacists are so busy, they do not volunteer patient counseling; however, many mistakes are often caught during this stage of the process.

Because child medication mistakes can occur at the pharmacy level, parents need to pull the medication out of the bag, check the label for the right drug name and information. If your child has been injured due to a pharmacy error, please call Kennedy Hodges to speak with an experienced pharmacy malpractice lawyer at 888-526-7616 for a free consultation today.

Sadly, millions of medication mistakes take place annually that result in innocent people being harmed or killed. While some of these drug errors could not have been caught by patients, others can be discovered by consumers and avoided.

Related Links Poor communication leads to medication dosage errors in Texas E-prescriptions can still result in pharmacy dosage errors

While reports indicate that with the use of electronic prescriptions (e-prescribing) and pharmacies using bar-code technology, pharmacy errors have been reduced; however, studies also have revealed that medication mistakes can occur with the use of these systems, too. For example, a doctor can click on the wrong dosage of medication in the drop down menu when e-prescribing, or a bar-code scanning error could occur due to the limitations of bar codes.

In order to make sure you are safe when picking up your medication at the pharmacy, you can take the following steps to reduce your chances of being a victim of a pharmacy error:

• Ask questions. It is important to start asking questions in your doctor’s office.  Things to ask include: What is the name of the medication? What dosage is being prescribed? Are there side-effects of the drug? How many times a day should the medication be taken?
• Document. It is critical that you write down the answers the doctor gives you when you ask the aforementioned questions. Details can easily be forgotten – for example: is the medication is intended to be taken twice a day or twice a week?
• Be prepared. When you arrive at the pharmacy to pick up your prescription, take your notes with you to make sure you received the right dosage of the correct drug.
• Be vocal. If something doesn’t match up (e.g. the name of the drug, the dose, or the instructions), you should ask for a consultation with the pharmacist in order to prevent an error and harm from occurring to you.

If you suffered from a medication mix-up due to a pharmacist’s negligence, please call Kennedy Hodges to speak with an experienced Texas pharmacy error attorney at 888-526-7616 in a free consultation today.

There are many reasons why children are unintentionally poisoned or suffer from drug overdosing. Those responsible for these drug errors are typically:

• Pharmacists
• Parents
• Drug manufacturers
• Children, themselves

Some of the reasons children suffer from accidental prescription poisonings include:

• Children receive the wrong medication at the pharmacy
• Children receive the correct medication, but are prescribed an adult dose
• Parents don’t check the label for their child’s information
• Parents don’t confirm that the prescription is the same as the doctor ordered
• Parents don’t consult with the pharmacists or ask necessary questions
• Adults leave their prescriptions out in the open
• Children find their parent’s medication in accessible areas of the house
• Parents don’t talk to children about the dangers of medications
• Grandparents don’t realize the risks involved by leave their medications in a child’s reach

Related Links Efforts to prevent drug errors FREE book

Very young children tend to be most vulnerable for accidental poisonings because they are prone to stick just about anything into their mouths. If a child finds a pill that was dropped on the floor or is able to reach on top of counters, it is likely that the child may suffer as a result. In order to prevent drug errors in children, parents and grandparents need to keep medications in a safe place and be more cautious in storing their medications. Additionally, drug manufacturers should consider creating better drug packaging, and pharmacists should perform more patient consultations.

If your child suffered harm due to someone else’s negligence, please call Kennedy Hodges to speak with a pharmacy error attorney at 888-526-7616 in a free consultation today, and also request a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.

CVS was at the forefront of an investigation in New Jersey for commingled pills. It was found that five New Jersey locations, including Chatham, Budd Lake, Cherry Hill, Scotch Plains, and Rahway, gave patients the wrong medications and that many people received pill bottles with a mix of medicines in them.

It appears that these CVS drug mix-ups occurred because pharmacy employees ignored procedures and put unclaimed prescriptions back into the pharmacy’s stock, which is against pharmacy policy. Since some pills look like others, drugs ended up back into the wrong stock bottles due to employees’ negligence, which is how they ended up commingled in new prescriptions.

Additionally, some pharmacies used automated filling machines, which were loaded with the pills that had been improperly returned to the stock. Since then, CVS in New Jersey agreed to retrain their staff, improve quality assurance, conduct inspections, develop safer procedures, and pay $650,000 for a public education program to the state of New Jersey.

While they are doing their part to minimize wrong medications getting into the hands of consumers again, pharmacy errors will still occur at any pharmacy because humans make mistakes. Pharmacists across this nation are busier than ever and more pharmacy technicians are filling prescriptions, which has contributed to drug errors.

If you have been harmed due to a negligent pharmacist, contact Kennedy Hodges at 888-526-7616 and find out if you have a CVS claim. We offer a no-cost consultation, and we will also give you a FREE copy of our report, How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Your Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.