Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Mislabeled Compounded Semaglutide and the Dosing Errors Putting Patients at Risk

June 29, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The boom in weight-loss and diabetes drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide has pushed many patients toward compounded versions, often cheaper and easier to get than the brand-name injections. That demand has also exposed serious problems in how some compounding pharmacies prepare and label these medications. Federal regulators have cited compounding pharmacies for sending out compounded GLP-1 injections that lacked basic labeling, including the strength, the dose, and instructions for how to administer the drug. In at least one case described by regulators, a patient was hospitalized for several nights after taking a compounded semaglutide injection.

How a Missing Label Becomes an Overdose

These drugs are measured in small amounts, and the gap between a correct dose and a harmful one can come down to a few units on a syringe. When a vial arrives without a clear strength or dosing instruction, a patient drawing up their own injection is left guessing. Pull too much, and the result can be severe nausea, vomiting, dehydration, dangerously low blood sugar, and the kind of gastrointestinal distress that lands people in the emergency room. A pharmacy’s labeling carries real weight. It is the instruction set a patient relies on every time they prepare a dose, and a missing or wrong label invites exactly the kind of error that injures people.

When Pharmacy and Compounding Errors Lead to Liability

Pharmacies have a duty to dispense medications accurately and to label them so patients can use them safely. When a compounding pharmacy mislabels a drug, prepares the wrong concentration, or fails to provide dosing instructions, and a patient is hurt as a result, that failure can support a claim for the harm it caused. The same holds for more familiar pharmacy mistakes, such as dispensing the wrong drug, the wrong strength, or the wrong directions on the bottle. Proving these cases depends on evidence, so patients who suspect a medication error should hold on to what they have:

When a Medication Vial Is Labeled as the Wrong Drug

May 28, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

You trust the label on your medication. What happens when that label is wrong, and you only find out after a frightening reaction?

There is a particular kind of medication error that should never happen, and yet it does. Not a wrong dose. Not a missed interaction. The label on the container says one drug, and the container actually holds another. The safeguard you and your doctor rely on most — the words printed on the package — is the very thing that misleads you.

That danger came back into focus recently when a drug manufacturer expanded a nationwide recall after vials of an antibiotic were found incorrectly labeled as a completely different medication. The complaint that triggered it was exactly what every patient and clinician fears: vials labeled as one drug were discovered inside cartons of another. For many patients, a swap like that might be caught in time. But if you have a known allergy to the drug the vial was mistakenly labeled as — or to the drug that was actually inside — that mistake can be life-threatening before anyone realizes what went wrong.

Think about how much trust you place in your medication every day. You assume the label is true. Your nurse, your pharmacist, and your doctor assume the same. If you have a serious allergy, you have probably told every medical provider about it, again and again. The whole system depends on accurate labeling. When a vial lies about its own contents, a careful nurse or pharmacist following every rule can still give you exactly the medication that puts you at risk of a severe reaction.

How Pharmacy Understaffing Turns Into a Maryland Misfill Lawsuit

April 30, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A pharmacy misfill is the kind of injury most people do not expect to happen to them, until it does. The wrong drug. The wrong dose. The right drug for someone else, in a bottle with the patient’s own name on the label. By the time the error is caught, the harm is often already underway.

Patients tend to assume the cause was one rushed pharmacist on one bad day. The reality, increasingly, is something much bigger.

Recent reporting in The American Prospect (March 19, 2026) describes understaffing in chain pharmacies as endemic, and links it directly to a long-running pattern of dispensing errors. A January 2026 Pharmacy Times analysis based on a profession-wide burnout survey reported that pharmacists rated their burnout, on average, at 5.89 out of 7, and pointed to workload, performance metrics, and high prescription volumes as leading causes. A January 2026 Frontiers in Public Health article framed pharmacist burnout as a system-accountability problem rather than a personal coping problem. ShiftRx and other workforce reports from early 2026 connect chronic pharmacy understaffing to medication errors, abandoned counseling, and patient safety risks.

Counterfeit Ozempic and the Safety Duties Pharmacies Cannot Ignore

March 28, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In December 2025, FDA warned that counterfeit Ozempic injection 1 mg had been found in the legitimate U.S. drug supply chain. FDA said it was notified by Novo Nordisk in November 2025, that the agency’s investigation was ongoing, and that retail pharmacies, wholesalers, health care professionals, and patients should closely inspect products for signs of counterfeit labeling. FDA also warned that counterfeit needles associated with the product raised sterility concerns, creating the possibility of infection.

That is an important pharmacy-error story because it shifts attention to a form of medication danger that patients do not always think about. Many people hear “pharmacy mistake” and think of the wrong bottle or the wrong instructions. Those cases matter, but medication safety failures can also involve sourcing, verification, packaging review, and the breakdown of safeguards that are supposed to stop suspect products before they reach a patient.

This issue is especially significant because Ozempic is a widely recognized medication, and a patient receiving a counterfeit version may have no obvious reason to doubt what they were handed. FDA’s broader guidance on counterfeit medicine explains that counterfeit drugs may contain the wrong ingredients, too much or too little active ingredient, no active ingredient at all, or other harmful ingredients.

Pharmacy Misfill Lawsuit in Maryland: What You Need to Know

February 24, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A pharmacy misfill lawsuit in Maryland allows a patient who received the wrong medication — or the wrong dosage of the correct medication — to seek compensation for injuries caused by the pharmacist’s error. These claims fall under Maryland’s medical malpractice framework and must be filed within the deadlines set by Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109, which generally requires that a claim be brought within five years of the injury or three years from the date the injury was discovered, whichever is earlier.

Pharmacy errors happen far more often than most patients realize. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that medication errors contribute to at least one death every day nationwide. Maryland patients harmed by a prescription mistake may benefit from speaking with a pharmacy misfill attorney who understands both the medical and legal complexities of these cases. Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers handles pharmacy error claims throughout Maryland, including in Baltimore, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and the surrounding communities.

What Is a Pharmacy Misfill?

Prescribing Error Linked To Newborn Death After Wrong Drug Selected

January 31, 2026 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A medication mistake in a hospital can feel unthinkable, especially in a neonatal unit where every dose is tiny and every change matters. A recent report from London described a newborn who died after a prescribing error, where a doctor selected the wrong medication from a drop-down menu and the baby received an overdose. This did not happen in Maryland, Washington, D.C., or Virginia, yet Maryland families can still take something important from it: errors can start with one click, and the aftermath often involves confusing explanations, shifting paperwork, and unanswered questions.

The hardest part for many families is not only the loss. It is the feeling that the system moves forward while you sit with a thousand details you never got to understand. Knowing how these incidents usually get reviewed, and what information tends to matter, can help you feel less stuck.

What The Report Described About The Hospital Error

What Maryland And D.C Families Should Know When A Pharmacy Gives The Wrong Medication

December 29, 2025 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors often come to light only after a patient becomes seriously ill. A pill that looks slightly different, a new prescription that causes unexpected symptoms, or a sudden medical emergency can be the first sign something went wrong. In Maryland and Washington, D.C., dispensing the wrong medication or the wrong dose is one of the most common pharmacy errors, and it can cause severe harm before anyone realizes the mistake.

Families usually want to know two things right away: how this happened and whether it should have been prevented. In many cases, the answer to the second question is yes. Pharmacies have clear duties to verify prescriptions, check for interactions, and ensure patients receive exactly what was ordered.

How Wrong Medication Errors Typically Occur

Flu Shot Pharmacy Errors And Vaccine Injury Claims For Maryland Patients

November 13, 2025 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacies across Maryland play a major role in seasonal flu vaccination, especially during the busy fall and winter months. Most visits go smoothly, yet some patients suffer serious shoulder injuries or other complications because the shot was given incorrectly or the wrong vaccine was used. National reports show growing compensation awards for injuries such as SIRVA, a shoulder condition linked to improper injection technique, and highlight ongoing litigation involving vaccine administration errors.

If a pharmacist or technician mis-administers a flu shot, gives the wrong dose, or injects the vaccine in the wrong location, you may have a compensation claim. The path to recovery can involve both the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and, in some situations, a state malpractice or negligence case.

<strong> How Do Flu Shot Errors Happen?</strong>

During peak flu season, pharmacy staff handle a high volume of patients. That pressure increases the risk of mistakes, including:

Injecting too high on the shoulder, into the joint capsule rather than the deltoid muscle;
Using the wrong needle length for the patient’s body type;
Confusing vaccine products or doses when multiple shots are stocked in the same fridge; and
Failing to verify a patient’s identity or allergy history before injection.

Pharmacy Times recently discussed cases where patients developed severe shoulder pain, limited mobility, and long-term disability after routine shots, including a million-dollar award to a health care worker whose arm injury prevented her from performing daily tasks. These stories show that flu shot injuries are real and can be life-changing.

Maryland Patients at Risk When Recalled Medications Reach Pharmacies

October 23, 2025 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The recent Class I recall of cefazolin, an antibiotic used to fight serious infections, highlights the dangers that patients face when unsafe drugs reach pharmacies. The Food and Drug Administration flagged the recall after contamination was detected that could cause severe or even fatal reactions. For Maryland residents, the incident raises an important question: what happens if you or a loved one receives a recalled or unsafe medication? Speaking with a qualified attorney as soon as possible can help you protect your health and pursue accountability.

How National Recalls Connect to Local Pharmacy Errors

A nationwide recall may originate from a manufacturing facility, but pharmacies are often the last line of defense before a dangerous drug reaches patients. Pharmacists are responsible for tracking recall notices, removing affected lots from shelves, and notifying customers who may have received the medication. If a pharmacy fails to act on a recall notice, you may be given a contaminated or defective drug that puts your health in jeopardy. Such oversight can form the basis of a pharmacy error claim.

Common Pharmacy Errors Involve Medications That Look or Sound Alike

September 30, 2025 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy mistakes often occur when a drug’s name closely resembles another. These mix-ups can happen at any pharmacy, even those that claim to have safety measures in place. In Maryland, when a patient is harmed because of a medication error, legal action may be available. Certain medications are more frequently confused due to their nearly identical names or packaging.

If someone in your family is harmed after receiving the wrong prescription, you may be able to hold the pharmacy accountable. Maryland law requires proof that a duty was breached and that the mistake directly caused harm. Learning which medications are commonly involved in these errors can help protect you and your loved ones.

Why Are Medications So Frequently Confused?

Several drugs look or sound alike when written or spoken. These similarities can cause pharmacists and technicians to dispense the wrong one, especially during busy hours or under distraction. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices has compiled an extensive list of these look-alike and sound-alike pairs. Examples include amlodipine versus amiloride, and hydroxyzine versus hydralazine. Each pair includes drugs used for very different conditions.

Even experienced pharmacy staff sometimes mistake one for the other, particularly if the label is unclear, the name is misspelled, or the prescription is phoned in. These situations increase the risk of giving out the wrong medication. Research shows that such errors account for a significant portion of reported pharmacy mistakes.

Many pharmacies try to reduce this risk by using a system known as tall man lettering. This strategy capitalizes on the distinct part of similar drug names to help differentiate them. For example, prednisone and prednisolone are displayed differently to catch the eye.