Trusted Pensacola Medication Error Attorneys: Holding Negligent Providers Accountable

A medication error is a preventable failure in healthcare that could — or does — lead to a patient receiving inappropriate medicine. The error can occur at any point, from the packaging process to the initial prescribing decision to administration and monitoring. Such an error can directly and severely harm a patient, especially if it is not caught quickly.

In many cases, medication mistakes are not just unfortunate accidents; they are often the result of negligence, carelessness, systemic issues, or communication breakdowns. They signify a failure to meet the accepted “standard of care”, which is the level of skill and diligence that a reasonably prudent healthcare provider would exercise under similar circumstances.

Common Types of Medication Errors We Handle

Medication errors can manifest in numerous ways, each with the potential for serious harm. Our Pensacola attorneys handle claims involving a wide spectrum of medication mistakes.

Incorrect Prescriptions

A doctor might make an error by prescribing a drug that is inappropriate for the patient's diagnosed condition. The drug could fail to address the patient’s underlying health issue or even worsen it. This type of error also includes prescribing a medication known to interact dangerously with any other drugs the patient is currently taking.

Improper Dosages

A physician might prescribe the right drug, but in the wrong dosage. It might be too high, leading to toxicity, overdose, or severe side effects. Or it could be too low, rendering the medication ineffective and allowing the underlying condition to progress untreated.

Failure to Account for Allergies or Contraindications

Administering a medication to which the patient has a known and documented allergy is a serious and dangerous error.

Medical providers should also avoid prescribing or administering a drug that is contraindicated for a patient. This means that the drug could potentially harm the patient by interfering with an existing medical condition or with another medication they are taking.

Pharmacy Dispensing Errors

Medication errors can be made by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. These include filling a prescription with the wrong medication entirely, dispensing the correct medication but in the wrong strength or dosage, or providing incorrect or misleading instructions on the label.

Incorrect Administration

Mistakes may be made by a nurse or other healthcare provider while administering a drug. For example, a provider might give the medication via the wrong route (e.g., intravenously instead of orally), administer it at the wrong time, give the medication to the wrong patient, or use improper techniques.

Failure to Monitor Patient Response

Medical facilities should have systems in place to adequately monitor patients for signs of adverse reactions to medications, therapeutic effectiveness, or potential complications. This is especially crucial with high-risk medications. A failure in this system could indicate negligence.

Incorrect Labeling or Instructions

Manufacturers, medical facilities, or healthcare professionals might provide patients with unclear, confusing, or inaccurate instructions on how to properly take their medications, leading to potential misuse or dosage errors at home.

Nursing Home Medication Errors

Medication errors are a frequent issue in long-term care facilities. Mistakes in administering daily medications to vulnerable residents can lead to significant health decline.

Where Can Medication Errors Happen?

Medication mistakes can occur in virtually any healthcare setting where medications are prescribed, dispensed, or administered.

Hospitals

Busy hospital environments, shift changes, complex patient needs, and communication issues between departments can contribute to errors during admission, treatment, surgery, or discharge.

Pharmacies

Both large chains and small, independent pharmacies can make dispensing errors. Mistakes may be more common when a pharmacy experiences high customer volume or when it suffers from poor storage and organization practices, inadequate staff levels, and a lack of oversight.

Doctors’ Offices and Clinics

Errors can occur during the initial prescribing process. They may involve incorrect drug selection, dosage calculation errors, or a failure to review the patient's full medical history. Administration errors can also happen during in-office treatments.

Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

When nursing staff or medication aides have to administer medications to dozens of residents with complex needs, there are many opportunities for errors. The risk is often exacerbated by understaffing or inadequate training.

At Home

Patients or their caregivers may make errors due to unclear instructions or confusing medication packaging. Sometimes, they are not properly warned about the risks of interactions between prescription medications and certain supplements, foods, or over-the-counter drugs.

The Serious Consequences of Medication Mistakes

The impact of a medication error can be profound and far-reaching, extending beyond immediate side effects:

• Adverse drug reactions: Ranging from mild (rash, nausea) to severe and life-threatening (anaphylaxis, organ damage).
• Worsening of existing conditions: Further complications and potentially irreversible damage from the progression of the underlying illness.
• Development of new health problems: New, chronic health issues that require ongoing treatment and management.
• Overdose and toxicity: Organ damage, respiratory failure, or coma due to dangerously high levels of a drug.
• Birth defects: Harm to a developing fetus, potentially causing serious birth defects.
• Prolonged illness and recovery: Additional medical treatment, hospitalization, and a longer, more difficult recovery period.
• Loss of trust in healthcare providers: The erosion of a patient's trust in the medical system.

In the most devastating cases, medication errors can lead directly to a patient's death.

Holding Responsible Parties Accountable

Identifying who is legally responsible for a medication error is a critical step in pursuing compensation. Depending on the circumstances, several parties could be held liable for negligence. Here are some common examples:

• Prescribing physicians: Prescribing the wrong drug or wrong dosage; failing to consider the patient's medical history, allergies, or potential drug interactions.
• Pharmacists and pharmacies: Dispensing the wrong drug or wrong dosage; failing to label the drug properly or provide adequate warnings.
• Nurses and other medical staff: Making errors in administering the medication (wrong patient, wrong route, wrong time, or wrong dose) or failing to properly monitor the patient.
• Hospitals and clinics: Failing to resolve problems like low staffing levels, poor communication protocols, and inadequate training.
• Nursing homes: Disregarding systemic failures in staffing levels, training, supervision, or adherence to medication administration protocol.

If your medication error claim is successful, it can do more than just compensate you for your losses; it could also force a facility to fix systemic problems in its medication administration processes, ultimately protecting other patients from harm.

How Our Pensacola Medication Error Lawyers Can Help You

Medical malpractice claims involving medication errors require specific legal knowledge and a deep understanding of medical practices and standards of care. Here is how our dedicated legal team supports our clients through these cases.

Thorough Investigation

Our medical doctor leads our malpractice team in a review of relevant medical records, pharmacy logs, hospital protocols, witness statements, and other evidence. Together, we reconstruct the events leading to the medication error and determine how to establish negligence.

Detailed Medical Record Analysis

Our medical malpractice team obtains and carefully analyzes all pertinent medical documentation until we fully understand the nature of the error and its precise impact on your health and well-being.

Collaboration with Medical Experts

Along with our on-staff medical doctor, other highly qualified medical professionals in our network can review your case, provide their expert opinions on the applicable standard of care, and testify as to whether that standard was breached.

Proving Negligence and Causation

We use what we have learned during our investigation to build a strong, evidence-based case demonstrating that a healthcare provider's actions or inactions fell below the accepted standard of care and directly caused harm to you.

Aggressive Negotiation

We handle all negotiations with the liable parties' insurance companies and legal representatives, fighting vigorously for a fair settlement that fully compensates you for all of your losses.

Skilled Litigation

If we cannot reach a fair settlement through negotiation, our experienced trial attorneys are fully equipped to take your case to court and advocate for your rights before a judge and jury.

Compensation You May Be Entitled To

Victims of medication errors deserve to be compensated for the harm they have endured. You may be entitled to recover damages for the following losses:

• Medical expenses: All costs associated with hospitalization, corrective surgeries, medication, therapy, rehabilitation, and other past and future treatments.
• Lost wages: Income lost due to time missed from work during your recovery period.
• Loss of earning capacity: Income replacement if you develop a long-term disability that affects your ability to work.
• Pain and suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and discomfort caused by the medication error and its effects on your health.
• Emotional distress: Damages for anxiety, depression, fear, PTSD, loss of enjoyment of life, and other psychological harm resulting from the traumatic experience.

In cases where a medication error in Florida tragically leads to death, the victim’s family or estate may take legal action. They can seek compensation for funeral and burial expenses, as well as the surviving family members’ loss of financial support and companionship.