Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Fatal Prescription Errors and Wrongful Death Lawsuits

March 15, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Prescription drugs can be dangerous. Indeed, that is exactly why the government does not allow for them to be purchased over-the-counter and requires that a patient be prescribed the medication by a physician and then must pick up the medication at a pharmacy. The intent of creating a system like this one is that there are several lines of defense against a patient taking a medication that could be harmful to their health.

However, sometimes pharmacists make mistakes. The seriousness of pharmacy errors varies, but in many cases long-term and irreversible damage is caused by taking a non-prescribed medication. In other cases, a patient may die because of the side effects they experience from the prescribed drug or from the body’s reaction to not getting the medicine that they were prescribed. In these cases, the victim’s family may be able to pursue a case against the responsible pharmacist through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Wrongful death lawsuits seek compensation for the loss of a loved one due to a negligent action of another party. These cases are brought on behalf of the deceased, usually by a family member of the victim. In fact, one of the requirements of a Maryland wrongful death lawsuit is that it be brought by the proper party. Here in Maryland, that means that the lawsuit must be filed by a spouse, parent, or child of the deceased, if one exists. This category of people is called primary beneficiaries. If no primary beneficiary exists, then a secondary beneficiary may file the lawsuit. Establishing who qualifies as a secondary beneficiary can be tricky, but generally speaking that person must be related to the deceased by blood or marriage, and must have relied on the deceased for financial support.

FDA Implements “Black Box” Warning for Essure, Eschewing a Total Recall

March 8, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a “black box” warning for a birth control medication, Essure. According to one local news source reporting on the newly released warnings, there have been over 5,000 women who have reported negative side effects while using Essure. These side effects include unplanned pregnancy, miscarriages, still births, and severe pain and bleeding. There are also some reports of women developing auto-immune disorders after taking the medication.

Despite the negative side effects, the FDA will continue to allow Essure to be marketed and sold in the United States. The FDA decided against a pharmaceutical recall and implemented a high-alert warning instead. The warning, known as a “black box” warning, is the most serious type of warning issued by the FDA. It requires that physicians provide patients with a written waiver prior to prescribing the medication. The waiver outlines the harms that the drug may cause.

According to another news source, the general response to the FDA’s action among women who had used Essure was that it fell far short of doing what needed to be done: issue a total recall. Support groups of women who have been harmed by Essure claim that the warning will not be taken seriously enough by prospective patients, and also that it fails to include all the potential side effects of using the product.

What to Do if the Pharmacist Gives You the Wrong Medication

March 1, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Ideally, pharmacists would always provide their patients with the correct medication and dosing instructions. However, that is not the reality we live in. It seems as though each week several new reports of prescription errors arise, some with serious or fatal consequences. While the duty to prevent these errors lies with the pharmacist, there are some steps that can be taken to help reduce the frequency of pharmacy errors. In addition, there are also steps that should be taken once a prescription error is noticed.

According to a recent report, there are over 100,000 deaths each year from adverse drug interactions. Many of these are the result of a pharmacy error. In fact, it is estimated that each year, there are about 7,000 preventable fatalities due to mistakes made in a pharmacy setting. Pharmacists and the pharmacies that employ them may be held accountable for their mistakes through civil lawsuits based on the legal theory of negligence. However, how a victim of a prescription error handles the moments after discovering an error may affect the viability of any personal injury claim in the future. Thus, it is important that certain steps be taken after noticing that you have been provided the wrong medication by a pharmacist.

What to Do in the Wake of a Prescription Error

First, and most importantly, seek out medical treatment immediately. While some pharmacy errors are relatively benign, others can be fatal, depending on the patient as well as the medication. Patients should not attempt to treat themselves and should let a medical professional assess the situation.

Pharmacy Errors in Child Patients

February 22, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A pharmacist’s mistake in providing the wrong medication to a patient is always a serious concern, but never is it more serious than when the patient is a child. Children are much more susceptible to suffering serious or fatal side effects when given medication that was not prescribed to them. In fact, the manufacturers of many medications specifically state that the drug is not intended for the use of minors. It is therefore extremely important that pharmacists and parents do everything they can to ensure that a child is not given the wrong medication.

However, pharmacists are human, and busy ones at that. They often fill hundreds, if not thousands, of prescriptions each day. This constant flow of work can create an increased chance that something will break down in the system, and a child will be provided the wrong medication. However, the concern is not only that a child will be given the wrong medication altogether. Children are also at risk for serious injury or death if the dose they are provided is not correct.

When a pharmacist does make a mistake, and a child is harmed as a result, that pharmacist and the pharmacy employing him may be held financially liable in a negligence lawsuit. Despite what the media and the pharmacy industry may say, the ultimate burden is not on the parents or those who administer the medication to the child. The burden remains on the pharmacist.

Protecting Yourself against Serious Pharmacy Errors

February 19, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Chances are most people have heard of or read about someone being provided the wrong prescription or the wrong dose of a medication when they go to pick up their prescription from a retail pharmacy. In fact, these errors are quite common, with some estimates of the number of errors per year reaching into the millions. However, there are some things that people can do to help protect themselves against a pharmacist’s mistake.

According to a recent article, the best way to think about preventing a pharmacy error is to think about each phase in which the system can break down, potentially leading to an error. Thus, the article discusses the three main locations where a patient should take a few extra steps to ensure their safety.

At the Doctor’s Office

Knowledge is key in the doctor’s office. Knowing which drug a doctor is prescribing for a patient will help a patient be able to identify if they are provided with a different medication. However, knowing why a patient is being prescribed a medication is also important. If the doctor includes the reason for the prescription in the text of the prescription, the pharmacist is much less likely to make an error by providing the wrong medication.

Pharmacists’ Reactions to Reported Medication Errors

February 8, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Mistakes happen. Despite the best efforts of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, sometimes an error will occur, and a patient will be provided with the wrong medication, or provided with the right medication but with inaccurate instructions on how to take it. In these cases, patients will almost always first reach out to the filling pharmacist to determine whether an error occurred and whether they should immediately go to the hospital. When pharmacy staff denies the error or tries to push the mistake onto someone else, patients understandably get frustrated.

On one hand, it makes sense why a pharmacist would initially deny liability when hearing that a medication error occurred, since if any injuries result from the error, they could be held personally and professionally liable. In addition, the pharmacy that employs the technician can also be held liable. In fact, in some cases the financial liability for medication errors can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, in cases when a serious injury or death is the result. However, avoiding responsibility or hiding the truth from the patient is certainly not the best practice.

Pharmacists Encouraged to Have Detailed Procedures in Place for Reported Errors

Earlier last month, a pharmaceutical industry news source reported on how pharmacies should consider putting detailed protocols in place for handling reported medication errors. The article documents one woman’s experience filling a prescription for 20 mg pills of amitriptyline. Instead of filling the prescription with the 20 mg pills the doctor ordered, the woman was provided 200 mg pills by the pharmacist on duty.

The Nurse’s Role in Preventing Hospital and Nursing Home Pharmacy Errors

February 1, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When most people think of a pharmacy error, they think of a retail pharmacist providing the wrong drug to a patient who then takes it up to the register, checks out, and goes home to take the medication in their own home. However, this only accounts for a portion of the prescriptions that are filled each day in the United States. In fact, countless other prescriptions are provided to hospital patients and nursing home residents.

Unlike prescriptions filled at a retail pharmacy, prescriptions that are filled in a hospital have a few added layers of protection in place to prevent against the patient being provided the wrong medication. For example, after a doctor writes a prescription to a hospital patient, and the pharmacy fills the prescription, a nurse must obtain the medication and deliver it to the patient. This is a critical role that allows for the nurse to act as a final line of defense against serious or fatal prescription errors.

However, despite all the precautions in the world, sometimes errors will occur. When a prescription error does occur, it may result in very serious injuries or even death in some cases. Under Maryland law, the victims of these mistakes can look to the legal system for help through a pharmacy error lawsuit.

Lawsuits Against Manufacturers of Dangerous Medications

January 25, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When a patient goes to the doctor and is given a prescription, one of the first things the patient is likely to ask is “what are the potential side effects?” Indeed, most pharmaceutical drugs have side effects of some kind, ranging from the mild to the more severe. In some cases, there is even the risk of serious injury or death.

Ultimately, the choice is left up to the patient to weigh the risks of taking the medication against continuing to suffer from their current ailment. However, when a drug company markets its drug in a misleading fashion, the patient cannot make an educated decision about the pros and cons of taking the prescription mediation.

In these types of cases, it is possible that a patient who is hurt after taking a medication can sue the drug manufacturer, alleging one of several available theories. In essence, many personal injury claims based on dangerous pharmaceuticals allege that, had the patient known the real dangers of taking the medication at the time, they would not have taken it. Of course, these cases are quite complex and often rely on medical and scientific expert testimony to prove the necessary causation element.

The Ease of Obtaining an Opioid Prescription, Even After an Overdose

January 18, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The use of prescription opioid painkillers has soared over the past few years. In fact, according to one recent news article, the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers has increased more than 300 percent over the past 15 years. While the medication may be helpful to those suffering from severe pain, this increase in the prevalence of addictive and dangerous medication has led to an increase in the number of addictions and overdoses. Additionally, the prevalence and ease of obtaining prescription painkillers can also act as a “gateway” to heroin, which is a cheaper and more effective drug for those addicted to opioid painkillers.

Physician Liability for Painkiller Overdoses

While it is legally possible for a physician to be held accountable in a court of law for negligently prescribing addictive painkillers to a patient, it is not exceedingly common. This is for a number of reasons. First, there must be some “harm” suffered by the patient. This generally requires more than an addiction to a prescription drug. However, if a patient overdoses and is seriously injured or dies as a result of the overdose, that may satisfy the damages requirement.

Prescription Dosing Errors: Why and How They Occur

January 11, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacists across the United States fill hundreds of thousands of prescriptions each day and, since they are human and prone to making mistakes, there are estimated to be hundreds of errors per day in pharmacies across the country. Some of these errors are minor or will be caught before the patient leaves the pharmacy. However, others may result in serious injury or even death in some cases.

One type of mistake a pharmacist can make is a dosing error. A dosing error occurs when the pharmacist provides the correct drug to the patient but fills the prescription with an incorrect dose. There are several possible causes for a dosing error. However, most often they are caused by a rushed or overworked pharmacist trying to fill prescriptions for large numbers of waiting patients.

FDA Cautions Pharmacists Regarding Noxafil

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a caution to pharmacists that the different formulations of the prescription drug Noxafil, manufactured by Merck, cannot be directly substituted for one another. According to one industry news source, since the delayed-release version of the drug was approved by the FDA back in 2011, there have been 11 documented cases in which a patient was provided the wrong dose by a pharmacist. In fact, one of those cases resulted in the hospitalization and another in the death of the patient.