Understanding Your Rights When Facing a Medication Error and When to Call an Attorney

Facing a medication error can be a stressful and intimidating experience. Unfortunately, medication errors occur more often than you might think and can have serious consequences. As a patient, it’s important to understand your rights in this situation and know what action to take. 

This article will provide an overview of your rights when facing a medication error, what you should do, and how to protect yourself. You will learn the steps to take if you have experienced a medication error so that you can ensure that you receive the best care possible. 

Additionally, you will also learn ways to prevent medication errors in the future. This information is essential for every patient to know so that you can be confident that you will receive the right care the first time.

What Is a Medication Error?

A medication error is a preventable event that occurs when a patient receives the wrong medication, wrong dose, wrong route of administration (such as a medication prescribed for oral use but administered intravenously), or the wrong patient. 

Medication errors can also occur if a patient’s allergies are not identified, or a drug interaction is missed. Medication errors can be caused by a number of different factors, such as miscommunication, illegible handwriting, incorrect storage conditions, or a lack of knowledge. 

The most common medication errors are prescription errors, administration errors, and dosage errors. 

Prescription errors occur when a doctor prescribes the wrong medication, the wrong strength of medication, or the wrong quantity of medication. 

Administration errors occur when a nurse or other medical professional administers the wrong medication, the wrong dose, or the wrong route of administration. 

Dosage errors occur when a patient receives the wrong dosage or when a patient is given the wrong drug.

Common Causes of Medication Errors

It’s helpful to understand the common causes of medication errors so that you can better protect yourself against future mistakes. Here are a few of the most common causes of medication errors.

1. Miscommunication: This can occur when misreading the doctor’s handwriting when filling the prescription, misinterpreting the instructions on the prescription, or misunderstanding instructions from a medical professional or loved one. 

2. Lack of Knowledge: Healthcare providers can also make mistakes due to a lack of knowledge. This can happen if a doctor is out of his/her field of expertise or a nurse is working with a medication they are not familiar with.

3. Incorrect Storage Conditions: Medications are sensitive to light, heat, and humidity. Therefore, they need to be stored in a controlled environment to avoid degradation. All medications have specific storage requirements, so make sure to store your medications properly.

4. Patient Factors: Patient factors can also be the cause of a medication error. Examples include an incorrect dose selected for a child, a pregnant woman, or an elderly person; allergies that are not identified; an incorrect drug selected for a patient with similar symptoms; or a patient being given the wrong medication.

Rights of the Patient When Facing a Medication Error

If you experience a medication error, you have certain rights that protect you as a patient. These rights ensure that you receive the best care possible and hold the healthcare team accountable for their actions. If you have experienced a medication error, take the following steps:

Document the Error: Write down the details of the medication error so that you can refer to them later. You can also document the error by taking photographs, audio recordings, or video recordings of the error, if applicable.

Report the Error: Report the medication error to the healthcare team and ask them to correct the mistake. You should also report the error to your attorney, who can determine whether you have a valid claim for compensation.

Protect Yourself against an Adverse Reaction: If you suspect an adverse reaction to a medication that was prescribed incorrectly, stop taking the drug and protect yourself against any potential health complications.

Protect Yourself against Medical Negligence: If you believe that the medication error was due to medical negligence, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the healthcare team responsible for the error.

Why Are Medication Errors Serious?

Medication errors can be serious and result in harm to patients. Errors may occur during prescribing, administering, or monitoring of medication—they can even take place during the manufacturing process. Examples of medication error harms include: 

1. Drug overdose 

2. Allergic reactions 

3. Adverse drug interactions 

4. Wrong drug prescribed 

5. Incorrect dose of drug prescribed 

These errors can have significant physical, psychological, and financial consequences. If you or someone you care about has experienced harm due to a medication error, it’s important to understand your rights. 

Your Rights After a Medication Error Occurs 

If you or someone you care about has experienced harm due to a medication error, you should contact an attorney. Depending on the circumstances of your case, a legal professional can help you understand what your rights are and determine whether or not further action needs to be taken. 

In general, you may have the right to pursue compensation for any medical bills, lost wages, or suffering due to the medication error. An experienced attorney will help you navigate the process of filing a claim and ensure your rights are protected. 

When Should You Call an Attorney? 

It is important to call an attorney as soon as possible after discovering that a medication error has occurred. Legal professionals can help protect your rights by filing a claim in a timely manner and gathering any evidence needed to support your case. 

An experienced attorney will also be able to answer any questions you may have regarding the process of filing a claim and provide guidance on what steps you should take next. They can help ensure that all deadlines are met and that your rights are fully protected throughout the process. 

By understanding your rights after a medication error and taking the appropriate steps, you can help protect yourself or someone you care about from any financial losses or suffering due to the error. With assistance from an experienced attorney, you can pursue justice and obtain compensation for any harm caused.

Are You a Victim of Medication Error?

Contact The Doctor Lawyer Firm today if you believe you or someone you know has been the victim of a medication error. We have an experienced team of attorneys who are ready to help and protect your rights every step of the way. 

Don’t delay—call us today at 1-833-MedMals so that we can get started on helping you fight for justice.

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not decide whether to contact a lawyer based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.