The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 46 new drugs last year. That might not seem like many approvals until you consider that, between research, development, testing, and clinical trials, it can take up to 15 years for a drug to get approved. Even then, the drug will remain under scrutiny as patients will continue to report on any possible side effects.
When prescribing you a medication, your doctor might consider one of the newly approved drugs. They will most certainly consider one of the more than 24,000 drugs already approved by the FDA.
Between your doctor writing a prescription and the pharmacist filling it, an error could occur that leads to harm. Obviously, that wouldn’t be intentional, but it could rise to the level of an actionable cause for a medical malpractice claim. No one wants to sue their doctor.
At the same time, you don’t want to pay for additional medical expenses or lost wages due to the injury you incurred. This is the type of scenario where an experienced attorney can provide the right guidance to assess the merits of the claim and your options for seeking a remedy.
Common Types of Preventable Medication Errors in West Virginia
When you are prescribed medication, you expect it to perform as your doctor suggests it will. That desired outcome might not happen right away. Your prescription might also need to be adjusted if you experience a harsh side effect or don’t achieve the results. That would not be considered a medication error.
These are the common types of preventable medication errors:
- Dosage Errors: Prescribing, dispensing, or administering too much or too little of a drug. You could also be given double doses.
- Wrong Medication Selection: Many drugs sound alike, such as Celebrex versus Celexa or Cerebyx. These similar-sounding names can lead to the wrong medication being selected; this can also happen if a prescription is handwritten and illegible.
- Wrong-Patient Errors: Your doctor will prescribe medication based on a one-on-one exam. Once the prescription is written, a mix-up between patients can occur. This can happen in a doctor’s office, at a hospital, or at the pharmacy, and it can lead to you getting the wrong medication.
- Adverse Drug Interactions: Every prescription drug comes with some side effect warning. Many of these side effects were discovered during the drug’s testing phase. Sometimes side effects can be complicated by a patient’s current medications, allergies, or underlying health conditions. If a clinician does not consider that history, it can lead to a harmful interaction.
- Administration Timing Errors: Along with side-effect warnings, most drugs also have specific timing instructions. Taking a drug at the wrong hour, skipping doses, or using the wrong delivery route or frequency can also lead to health complications.
- Poor Labeling or Instructions: Before you take a new prescription medicine, a pharmacist should provide instructions on when to take the medication and whether to take it with or without food. There might be other lifestyle restrictions, such as driving under the influence of the drug, that the pharmacist needs to warn you about.
For your claim to move forward, you must be able to show what happened and who is to blame. Keep in mind that you also have a responsibility to follow the instructions.
Proving Medical Negligence in Prescription Drug Cases
To prove a medical malpractice claim, you must prove negligence. This is separate from intent. In a car accident, it is the difference between someone falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into your car (negligence) or someone getting angry and ramming your car in an act of road rage (intentional).
To prove medical negligence, you must show that a formal provider-patient relationship existed and that the doctor, pharmacist, or nurse owed you a legal obligation to provide safe care in line with medical standards. This is known as the duty of care.
Next, you need to demonstrate that the provider breached that duty by doing something like prescribing the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage. There has to be causation, which is the direct link between the breach and your injury. Finally, you need to prove you suffered measurable losses in the form of additional medical expenses, lost wages, and mental anguish.
The key evidence you need to prove your claim includes the following:
- Medical records
- Doctor notes
- Allergy list
- Prescription history
- The pill bottle
- Label instructions
- Pharmacy dispensing log
- Expert testimony
Expert testimony may be the most important element. This will typically come from fellow physicians or other licensed health care providers who can testify about what a competent professional should have done under the same circumstances. Before you can file your claim, you’ll need one of those experts to review the evidence and prepare a certificate of merit, which you must send to each provider with a notice of claim at least 30 days before filing, as stipulated by West Virginia law.
Finding the Right Support for Your Medical Malpractice Claim
Potential parties who could be held liable in a medical error claim include prescribing doctors, pharmacists, pharmacies, nurses, or facility staff. Between identifying the at-fault party, gathering evidence, and obtaining the certificate of merit, it can feel like an overwhelming task. Pursuing this type of claim is not without challenges.
That is why you need to retain an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who understands what it takes to secure a positive outcome.
The attorneys at Forbes Law Offices understand all the intricacies of a medical malpractice claim. We have more than 75 years of combined experience advocating for victims of medical negligence. We can work with medical professionals who can provide the support and understanding required to establish negligence.
These claims will not be resolved with a few phone calls. They take thorough investigations and a strong understanding of the law. That’s what Forbes Law Offices provides. Call today to set up a free consultation to discuss what went wrong with your prescription. We can answer all your questions and discuss what should happen next. The only way to know if your claim is worth pursuing is to get those answers.
