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The Devastating Impact of Medication Errors
Medication errors can be devastating. Unfortunately, when a person is given the wrong medication or an incorrect dose of medicine, the results can range from mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions. When this happens, knowing who can be held liable for these injuries is essential. Let’s explore what a medication error is, how it can occur, and who can be held responsible in such cases.
What Is a Medication Error?
A medication error is defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate use of medication or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. This includes prescribing the wrong drug, giving too much or too little of a drug, giving medications at the wrong time, or failing to monitor its effects on a patient’s health after administration.
How Does a Medication Error Occur?
Medication errors often occur when there are communication problems between healthcare professionals and patients. A doctor might prescribe the wrong medication due to a lack of information about a patient’s medical history or other medications being taken. A nurse may give an incorrect dose because they misread a doctor’s handwriting on an order sheet. Pharmacists may dispense the wrong amount of medicine if they misunderstand instructions from physicians or make mistakes when filling prescriptions. These errors can all lead to severe injury and even death if not caught quickly enough.
Who Is Liable for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors?
When it comes to determining liability for injuries caused by medication errors, it depends on who was responsible for making that mistake and whether that mistake could have been avoided with reasonable care. Generally speaking, any medical professional involved in prescribing, administering, or dispensing medications can be held accountable if their negligence leads to injury in a patient. However, there are different statutes of limitation depending on where you live, so it’s important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible if you feel you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence with your medications.
Medication Errors are Not Uncommon
Unfortunately, medication errors are common, but they do not need to go unaddressed when injuries occur. Knowing who is liable for these types of errors and understanding how they happen will help ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that victims are able to receive compensation for their suffering and losses due to negligence from medical professionals. If you feel like you have been injured by someone else’s negligence related to your medications, contact our team of medication error lawyers today so that you can seek justice and proper compensation for your injuries and suffering caused by these mistakes.
Contact Denver Trial Lawyers® today at (303) 647-9990 for a free consultation. There are no fees unless we win.
