Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Pharmacist Disciplined After Fatal Medication Error Occurs in Hospital

February 20, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medication errors often occur after a series of failures on the part of a healthcare provider. For example, a doctor may fail to communicate with a pharmacist after suspecting a medication mix-up. In other cases, a pharmacy may lack proper procedures to verify that a pharmacist has added the correct label to the correct medication. Although individual healthcare providers often receive professional discipline after a medication error, professional licensing boards may fail to hold pharmacists or hospitals accountable for their role in the error.

As a recent news article reported, a state Board of Pharmacy gave two years’ probation to a pharmacist after a fatal medication error. According to the article, hospital staff were preparing a patient suffering a gastrointestinal bleed for a colonoscopy. The patient was supposed to receive a bowel prep medication. Instead, the patient received a dialysis liquid and died hours later.

The Kentucky Board’s investigation found that the pharmacist sent the medication label to a nurse without verifying its accuracy. According to the investigation papers, the nurse mistook the dialysis solution for the colonoscopy prep medication. After the nurse attempted to scan the medication label to ensure it was the correct medication, the nurse found it would not scan. When the nurse called the pharmacy, the pharmacist sent a new label for scanning rather than double-checking the medication or sending a new supply. In addition to the pharmacist’s errors, the investigation cited several other issues that contributed to the fatal medication error, including low nurse staffing levels and a nurse’s failure to verify the medication information.

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

Pushed by Corporate Quotas, Massive Pharmacist Burnout Leads to Dangerous Errors in Medication

November 30, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent years large pharmaceutical corporations such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Walmart have consistently slashed pharmacy staffing levels while simultaneously increasing the burden on their frontline workers with an increasingly significant list of additional duties. A decade ago locations might have had teams of two pharmacists and six pharmacy technicians filling approximately 500 prescriptions a day. Today, many such locations have half that number of staff and an even higher prescription volume while simultaneously handling vaccine appointments, rapid tests, and patient consultation calls.

Rather than respond to the increased demands on pharmacists and pharmacy technicians by reducing work volume or hiring more staff, major pharmaceutical chains have increased the pressure on workers. A recent investigative news piece documented what pharmacy staff is experiencing. The article detailed how every task is timed and measured against corporate goals that reward speed and profits. Staff who do not fill prescriptions fast enough, answer the phones quickly enough, or drum up enough vaccination business can face discipline, reassignment, or termination. Burned-out pharmacists sound the alarm, saying “It’s nearly impossible to meet all the demands without cutting corners, and when corners get cut, patients can get hurt.”

What Is the Reason for So Many Pharmacy Errors?

While pharmacists must take an oath to hold patient safety in the highest regard prior to beginning their work, the massive internal pressures coming from their workplaces and their working conditions are increasingly forcing pharmacists to choose between that oath and their job security. Working conditions began to deteriorate even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but things have only become worse. This fall, the industry experienced a number of high-profile work walkouts as burned-out workers attempted to draw attention to the unsustainable working conditions.

California Legislature Passes First-in-Nation Pharmacy Safety Bill

October 30, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Dr. Randall Tackett, a clinical and administrative pharmacy professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy states “What’s reported to the FDA usually only accounts for 1 to 10 percent of what actually occurs.” Dr. Tackett went on to theorize that most medication errors result from the extreme workload that pharmacists are faced with. In an effort to combat this issue, some states have implemented prescription shift limits for pharmacists, limiting them to filling 150 prescriptions per shift. A recent news report describes a first-in-nation pharmacy safety bill recently passed by the California legislature.

What is the California Pharmacy Act?

California state lawmakers recently passed Assembly Bill 1286 or the Stop Dangerous Pharmacies Act after months of negotiations with chain pharmacies, labor groups, and regulators. The measure will now be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk to be signed. The bill is the first state-level regulation in the nation to crack down on understaffed chain pharmacies making medication errors, setting up California to be a national leader in pharmacy safety if it is passed. The proposed law requires corporate chain pharmacies to report all medication errors as well as provide baseline pharmacy staffing rules to ensure that California pharmacists are receiving the support they need as they fill prescriptions, and give injections.

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.

Medication Errors and How They Occur

August 22, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Unfortunately, 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.

Additionally, medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. The extra medical costs of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone are at least $3.5 billion a year, and this estimate does not take into account lost wages and productivity or additional healthcare costs, the report says. Medication error morbidity and mortality costs are estimated to run $77 billion dollars per year. Patient safety is a major public health concern.

What Are Medication Errors