Common Errors

Pharmacy Compounding Errors and Legal Accountability in Maryland

September 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacies play a critical role in ensuring patients receive the correct medications. When a pharmacy fails in its duties, particularly with compounded medications, the results can be disastrous, as seen in a recent case where children were hospitalized after receiving incorrectly compounded prescriptions. Pharmacy errors, like improper compounding, can lead to severe consequences. Under Maryland law, pharmacies must adhere to stringent regulations to ensure patient safety. Understanding these regulations and what happens when they are violated is essential for those affected by such mistakes.

Maryland Regulations for Pharmacy Compounding

In Maryland, pharmacies that engage in compounding must comply with state and federal laws designed to protect patients. Compounding is not as simple as filling a prescription—it requires creating custom medication by combining ingredients based on a patient’s needs. This process requires precision and oversight, and pharmacists are legally obligated to ensure that the medications they prepare are accurate, safe, and adequately documented.

Children Given COVID-19 Vaccine Instead of Flu Shots at a Walgreens Pharmacy

August 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Vaccine and pharmaceutical errors can have serious consequences, especially when the wrong medication or dosage is administered. While vaccines are a vital part of public health, mistakes in their administration can lead to unintended injuries and significant concern for families. Understanding your rights under Maryland law is crucial if your child has been affected by a pharmacy error.

Walgreens Pharmacy Error Leads to COVID-19 Vaccination of Young Children

An Indiana couple previously reported that their 4- and 5-year-old children were mistakenly given adult doses of the COVID-19 vaccine instead of the flu shots they were scheduled to receive at a local Walgreens pharmacy. The mix-up occurred during a routine vaccination appointment, leaving the parents deeply concerned about the potential health impacts on their young children.

Pharmacy Insulin Mistake Almost Results in Fatal Accident

May 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the medicine. Whether it is at the pharmacy or in the hospital, it is essential to be aware of safety measures that could make a major difference in the care you receive. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly present in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of emerging best practices in the face of the increased computerization of pharmacies and hospital medication cabinets.

What Are Common Illnesses Caused By Medication Errors?

According to a recent news report, a Mocksville woman has filed a complaint with the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy after she says she was recently given the wrong insulin at a Walgreens pharmacy. The woman from Mocksville, who didn’t want her identity revealed, says she’s had type 1 diabetes for 24 years. She has worn an insulin pump for 23 years. She told reporters that she had never had a problem like this before, so she didn’t think something like this could happen. She was quoted as saying, “surely, you know, they can’t give you the wrong insulin.”

Pharmacy With History of Sanctions, Fined After Life-Threatening Medication Error

April 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the proper medicine. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice. Pharmacies are increasingly short-staffed and overworked, leading to frequent errors when distributing medication. When receiving a prescription, it can be worthwhile to ask if the bottle, pills, or anything else about the order is different than usual or expected.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly frequent in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of this issue throughout the state and the country. A recent news article discussed a medication error that left a customer in the emergency room.

The article discusses how Greenville Pharmacy in Sioux City incorrectly filled a prescription for a customer who then began taking the drug. Three weeks later, the customer was treated in the emergency room of a hospital and was then admitted for what the board says was a “life-threatening condition resulting from this medication error.” Greenville Pharmacy was charged by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy with dispensing an incorrect prescription, although the available public documents don’t indicate whether the wrong drug or wrong dosage was dispensed. The records give no indication as to whether the customer recovered. As a result of the licensing board charge, Greenville Pharmacy agreed to have its license placed on probation for two years and agreed to pay a $2,500 civil penalty. Greenville Pharmacy has been sanctioned twice before, in 2002, and in 2005, for violating a law related to the practice of pharmacy and with the intentional or repeated violation of board rules.

Preventing Pharmacy and Medication Errors by Questioning Change in Pill Appearance

January 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Each year, pharmacies make millions of medication errors, leading to unintended side effects and even death. Recent investigations revealed that pharmacies in California alone are responsible for over five million errors annually. Each year, up to 9,000 people die from medication errors, and hundreds of thousands suffer adverse side effects from taking the wrong medication. Pharmacists report that errors are the result of large pharmacy chains pushing quotes and high sales targets while slashing staff and limiting hiring. There are some simple methods customers can use to cut down on pharmacy errors.

Questioning Change in Appearance of Pills

Dispensing the wrong drug is the most common type of pharmacy lawsuit. Common pharmacy mistakes include pharmacists dispensing the wrong drug, the wrong dose, the wrong directions, and overlooking significant drug interactions or contraindications. As a result, patients should be encouraged to ask their pharmacist if they have any questions about their medications, and those questions should be taken seriously. Some professionals recommend that if the appearance of a dosage form or pill changes for a recurring supply of pills, then the patient should be informed of the change.

Hospital Patient Nearly Killed By Medication Error Involving Lethal Injection Chemical

December 22, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the medicine. Whether it is at the pharmacy or in the hospital, it is essential to be aware of safety measures that could make a major difference in the care you receive. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice.

How Common Are Pharmacy Errors?

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly present in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of emerging best practices in the face of the increased computerization of pharmacies and hospital medication cabinets.

Near-Fatal Accident Stemming From Medication Errors

Large Retail Pharmacy Chains Push Quotas and Limit Staff, Causing Millions of Errors Per Year

October 10, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Each year pharmacies make millions of medication errors, leading to unintended side effects, and even death. Recent investigations revealed that pharmacies in California alone are responsible for over five million errors annually. Each year, up to 9,000 people die from medication errors, and hundreds of thousands suffer adverse side effects from taking the wrong medication. Pharmacists report that errors are the result of large pharmacy chains pushing quotes and high sales targets while slashing staff and limiting hiring.

Impact on Patients

The impact of medication errors is severe and tangible. Last year, a CVS patient in Ohio received what he thought was ropinirole, a drug used to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. He took approximately 27 tablets of the medication, experiencing severe adverse side effects, including increased anxiety, rapid heart rate, and sweating. It turned out that the bottle contained digoxin, a heart failure drug.

Pursuing Damages for Maryland Improper Labeling Injuries

September 24, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When a doctor prescribes a medication to treat a health condition, patients will often make the effort to use the medication as prescribed. Patients rely on medications to treat their symptoms, and they trust that taking the proper dosage will improve their health. However, when pharmaceutical companies mislabels a medication, they place patients’ health at risk without their knowledge. A patient could follow the instructions on a label perfectly and still suffer injuries due to a mislabeled dosage. In fact, a recent nationwide recall occurred when a pharmaceutical corporation improperly labeled the dosage of each tablet in a medication box.

Recently, a news article reported that Marlex Pharmaceuticals has recalled two improperly labeled lots of medication. The pharmaceutical corporation incorrectly labeled boxes of Digoxin containing 0.25mg tablets as 0.125mg, and incorrectly labeled 0.125mg tablets as containing 0.25mg each. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the mislabeled drugs could cause overdosing or underdosing in patients who believed they were taking the correct dose. Overdosing on Digoxin can lead to significant drug toxicity, including dizziness, memory loss, and fainting. Underdosing can potentially worsen a patient’s heart failure, which Digoxin typically treats.

What Legal Claims Can You Bring After Maryland Drug Mislabeling?

If you have suffered injuries from an improperly labeled drug, your legal claim for damages will likely depend on the cause of the injury. Many lawsuits over mislabeled drugs allege that the label failed to warn the plaintiff of the medication’s potential risks. The manufacturer will often argue that their label adequately warned consumers. However, the plaintiff may be able to argue that the warning label was somehow deficient. For example, a manufacturer may fail to fully warn consumers about the severity or frequency of potential side effects. That is, an incomplete warning can also be a failure to warn.

Overworked Pharmacists Lead to Unsafe Conditions and Millions of Annual Medication Mistakes

September 13, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to recent reporting by the Los Angeles Times, millions of medication errors occur each year, often at chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, where a pharmacist may fill hundreds of prescriptions during a shift while juggling other tasks such as giving vaccinations, calling doctors’ offices to confirm prescriptions and working the drive-through. In a recent survey of California licensed pharmacists in 2021, 91% of pharmacists working at chain pharmacies stated that staffing was insufficient to provide adequate care to patients. The state’s Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory board, requires pharmacies to document and track errors internally and inform patients about mistakes under some circumstances, only 62% of pharmacists working in chains stated that stores were following those rules according to the 2021 survey.

The article highlights how medication errors can result in dramatic health issues. One documented error resulted in the improper dose of a hormonal treatment for breast cancer being delivered. Another case resulted in a pregnant patient suffering a fall after she was given two drugs prescribed to another customer. One patient took prednisone, a powerful steroid, for 89 days after a Walgreens pharmacist confused the drug with Prilosec, the heartburn drug that had actually been prescribed. A pharmacist at CVS gave a patient another customer’s prescription for 50-milligram tablets of Zoloft, the antidepressant, according to a February citation. The person took the wrong drug for at least seven months, refilling the prescription three times.

How Common Are Medication Errors?

According to reports, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives approximately 100,000 medication error reports annually. In 2010, the FDA received only 16,689, but by 2018, the agency was receiving more than 100,000 reports per year. Experts point out that medication error reports are submitted on a voluntary basis, meaning that true medication errors are likely even higher.

Understanding the Consequences of Pharmacy Errors: A Legal Perspective

August 31, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When we visit a pharmacy to fill a prescription, we place an enormous amount of trust in the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. We assume they will provide the correct medication in the appropriate dosage, complete with precise instructions for use. But pharmacy errors happen more frequently than one might think, and the consequences can range from minor discomfort to severe health complications, or even death.

Types of Pharmacy Errors

Wrong Medication: One of the most dangerous types of pharmacy errors is dispensing the wrong medication. With a vast array of medicines that often have similar names, this kind of error can be easily made but is wholly unacceptable.