Earlier this month in British Columbia, Canada, an 18-year-old young man was given blood-pressure medicine by his local pharmacy instead of the acne medication prescribed by his doctor. According to one local Canadian news source, the error was harmless in that the young man’s mother caught the error after being on high alert after reading about the increased frequency of prescription errors in an earlier article.
Evidently, the woman picked up her son’s medication at the pharmacy, and all seemed normal. However, when he opened up the bottle, he noticed that the pills didn’t look the same as they usually did. His mother, who was luckily right there at the time, told her son not to take the medication despite his insistence that the medication must have been the right one because it was provided by the pharmacist.
Thankfully, the young man did not ingest any of the blood-pressure medication. Had he done so, the results could have been catastrophic, since he is a novice pilot and is in the air flying solo much of the time. Had he taken the medication and passed out while flying, the results could have been tragic.
Prescription Errors in Local Pharmacies
It seems that each week another serious prescription error occurs. Thankfully, any potential harm that could have been caused by this error was averted when the young man’s mother caught the error. However, not all patients have someone looking out for them and double-checking their medications. While double-checking medication is always a good idea, ideally patients wouldn’t need to double-check if pharmacists were always diligent in doing their jobs.
However, due to the stresses of the job—and sometimes due to the laziness or negligence of the pharmacist—pharmacy errors do occur with some regularity. It is therefore critical that patients double- and triple-check that the medication they were provided by the pharmacist is the one prescribed by their doctor. To be safe, make sure to speak with the pharmacist each time a new prescription is filled for the first time. This will give the pharmacist an opportunity to review the prescription one final time before it is taken. It will also allow him or her to address any questions that may arise regarding drug interactions and other potential issues.
Have You Been the Victim of a Pharmacist’s Negligence?
If you or a loved one has recently been provided the wrong medication by a pharmacy and suffered harm as a result, you may be entitled to monetary compensation for any injuries or pain and suffering you sustained as a result of the error. There can be untold dangers when taking a medication that was not prescribed to you, and because of that it is best to consult not just with a doctor but also with an attorney to see if you may have any legal right of recovery. To learn more about how you may be able to recover financially for the negligence of a pharmacist, call 410-654-3600 to set up a free initial consultation with a dedicated personal injury attorney.
More Blog Posts:
CVS Pharmacy Mixes Up Prescription, Man Sent to Hospital, Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog, December 15, 2014.
California Costco Pharmacy Mis-Fills One Patient’s Prescription Twice in One Year, Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog, January 22, 2014.