Earlier this month, a British news source published an article discussing the 2016 death of a man who was provided the incorrect prescription just days before he died. According to the report, the man had been receiving medication for type II diabetes, heart problems, and glaucoma. He had filled the…
Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog
Despite the High Prevalence of Pharmacy Errors, Pharmacists Resist Lawmakers’ Attempt to Impose Stricter Guidelines
By any account, pharmacists do not have an easy job. They often fill hundreds of prescriptions per shift, meet with dozens of clients for consultations, and must also maintain their internal inventory systems throughout the day. Pharmacists are human, and with these burdens being placed upon them day after day,…
Pharmacists May Admit Responsibility for Error but Still Deny Legal Liability in the Face of Pending Litigation
In day-to-day life, when someone admits to doing something wrong, they normally acknowledge that they are responsible for the consequences. However, in pharmacy error cases, that is not always the case. In fact, it is not uncommon for a pharmacist to acknowledge that a prescription mistake was made and then…
Pharmacist Gives Young Girl Wrong Dose of Medication, Potentially Resulting in Subsequent Seizures
Earlier this month, the mother of a four-year-old epileptic girl went to fill her daughter’s prescription and was given the medication. According to a local news source covering the incident, the young girl takes two prescriptions for her condition, one of which is Clobazam and anti-epileptic. The girl’s doctor prescribed…
The Risk of Prescription Errors Is Increased for Those with Common Names
Prescriptions errors can occur in a number of ways. Perhaps the most commonly seen prescription error, however, is when a pharmacist provides one patient’s properly filled prescription to another patient. The patient who receives the incorrect medication risks having an adverse reaction to the unprescribed pills and also risks an exacerbation…
Pharmacy Denies Liability in Alleged Medication Misfill
In October of last year, the parents of a young boy who suffers from a serious kidney condition discovered that the medication they had been giving their son on a daily basis was not the correct medication that had been prescribed by the boy’s doctor. According to a recent article…
Family of Pharmacy Error Victim Disappointed with Pharmacist’s Two-Month Suspension
Prescription medications are often dangerous drugs that are subject to government regulation, due to the potential harm they can cause when taken in a manner inconsistent with their therapeutic use. While the majority of pharmacy errors do not result in serious patient injuries, the reality is that there are a…
Registered Nurses Too Often Fail as a Last Line of Defense Against Medication Errors
The results of a recently published study emphasize the crucial role that registered nurses (RNs) play in maintaining accuracy in dispensing medications to patients receiving inpatient services at a hospital. The recently performed study discusses the most common medications that are subject to error, as well as the rates of…
Pharmacy Error Lawsuit Dismissed Because Plaintiff Names Wrong Defendant
The Supreme Court of Alabama recently released an opinion granting the appellant’s request for the state’s high court to intervene in the case and compel the trial judge to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim as time-barred. The statute of limitations for the plaintiff’s claim had expired shortly before the defendant’s motion…
Most Common Pharmacy Error of 2016 Was a Pharmacist’s Dispensing of the Incorrect Drug
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has released a report that discusses the most common pharmacy errors of 2016 and strategies to prevent these errors from harming patients in the future. The ISMP is an industry trade association containing pharmaceutical companies, doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals that regularly conducts observations…