In some cases, yes – you may be able to sue for complications caused by wrongly prescribed medications. Whether you have a case is dependent on several factors, most importantly the actions of your doctor or pharmacist and the seriousness of your injuries.
Damages in most medical malpractice cases are primarily compensatory in nature (there’s a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases in Texas). The idea is to make the patient and their family financially whole after a medical mistake.
Those damages can potentially be quite high, especially when a loved one’s death is caused by a medical mistake or improper prescription. No amount of money can bring a loved one back, but it can potentially prevent financial distress due to their loss.
Damages might also be high for lingering injuries with long-term consequences. Surgical mistakes or birthing injuries frequently fall into that category. A person may be forced to live with a disability for the rest of their life, or a family may have to deal with the costs of raising and caring for a disabled child after an obstetrician or neonatal nurse’s negligence causes a serious injury to a baby.
The costs for providing ongoing care for the remainder of a person’s life can be high, and families that must grapple with those consequences deserve compensation.
Pharmaceutical or prescription mistakes can fall into those categories. For example, a patient can have an allergic reaction to a medication containing ingredients they clearly listed as an allergen on their patient forms. The doctor who prescribed the medication and the healthcare provider that employs them may be liable for those injuries.
However, the extent of damages will likely be based on the severity of your discomfort, the length of your eventual recovery and the medical costs you incurred to correct the healthcare provider’s error. If you missed work due to your improper prescription injury, you should likely receive lost wages compensation as well.
Medical professionals and pharmacy staff need to be held accountable for their mistakes, but the compensation to which you might be entitled will be based on the consequences you suffered due to the mistake.
If a pharmacist gives you heart burn medication instead of a weeklong course of antibiotics, and the only negative effects was that it took a week longer to get rid of an ear infection, you might have trouble bringing a successful medical malpractice case.
Every scenario is different, but you generally need to be able to show significant pain and suffering or financial damages directly caused by the mistake. Being forced to endure an ear infection for an extra week, but suffering no long-term damage, discomfort or loss of hearing might not clear the hurdle.
Types of Medication Negligence Cases
- Inaccurate or incorrect dosing instructions or prescriptions
- Being prescribed medications you’re allergic to
- Being prescribed medications with negative drug reactions to medications you’re currently taking
- Mislabeled medications or mixing up medications
Who Can Be Liable for Medication Injuries?
Medical malpractice cases are most frequently associated with doctors, but they’re not the only healthcare workers patients deal with, or the only medical professionals who can make mistakes.
Pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants and other medical workers also owe duties of care to the patient. If a pharmacist puts the wrong pills in a bottle with the incorrect label, a patient could suffer severe, potentially permanent side effects.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Houston
Every personal injury case is unique. Medical malpractice is one of the more complex areas of personal injury law due to the variables involved, the difficulty of proving negligence and the challenges inherent to predicting future medical and long-term care costs.
However, it is of vital importance that medical practitioners are held accountable when mistakes happen. Every person either regularly uses a pharmacy or will eventually need to get a prescription filled. Far too many injuries could potentially occur if there aren’t safeguards and penalties for mistakes.
At the Weycer Law Firm, we’re committed to making sure Houston patients are fairly compensated after serious errors result in costly injuries. Call us at (713) 668-4545 for your free case evaluation.