Orlando Pharmacy Negligence Attorneys
In the United States, we enjoy access to some of the best medical care available worldwide. However, that doesn’t mean that all medical care is high quality or even beneficial. In fact, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have reported that medical errors cause approximately 10% of all U.S. deaths, making it the third highest cause of death in the nation prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Errors can occur in all fields of medicine, but when pharmacy errors occur, the problems can be life-threatening or even fatal. If you have been injured or a family member has died due to one of these pharmacy errors, an experienced pharmacy negligence attorney can help you hold the negligent party or parties responsible.
At Bailey Fisher PLLC, we have more than half a century of combined successful legal experience both in and out of the courtroom. Our Orlando pharmacy negligence attorneys are committed to aggressively advocating on behalf of victims who have suffered financially, physically, and emotionally because of a pharmacy error. We welcome the opportunity to help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Pharmacy Negligence
The average person will take some type of prescription medication at least once per year, while many take prescription medications daily to help control chronic medical conditions. Few of these people stop to consider how often mistakes are made during the process of dispensing prescription medications.
According to the National Institutes of Health, “adverse drug events (ADEs) account for more than 3.5 million physician office visits and 1 million emergency department visits each year. It is believed that preventable medication errors impact more than 7 million patients and cost almost $21 billion annually across all care settings. About 30 percent of hospitalized patients have at least one discrepancy on discharge medication reconciliation.”
Not all mistakes that are committed by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician amount to negligence. For a pharmacy error to rise to the level of negligence, that error must qualify as a breach of the “standard of care. That is, negligence occurs when a pharmacist or pharmacy technician does not act in accordance with what other pharmacists or technicians would have done under the same set of circumstances. A pharmacist or pharmacy technician can be sued for damages if he or she breached the prevailing standard of care and the breach caused harm.
Types of Pharmacy Errors
When you pick up prescription medication, you likely do not stop to consider all the steps that went into filling that prescription — or all the opportunities for an error to occur during the process of filling your prescription. If you are sick enough to be in the hospital, you are probably even less likely to question the accuracy and/or safety of the medications you are being given. Consider, however, the numerous ways in which a pharmacy error can occur:
- Receiving the wrong medication. A patient could receive the wrong medication if the pharmacist misreads the prescription or if the patient is mistakenly given someone else’s medication.
- Experiencing dangerous drug interactions. A pharmacist is the final line of defense against the possibility of dangerous drug interactions. Patients are often prescribed medications by more than one doctor, which is why it is crucial that the pharmacist who is filling those prescriptions check for dangerous drug interactions.
- Prescribing the wrong dosage. Many prescription medications become harmful, even fatal, when the incorrect dosage (too high or too low) is dispensed by a pharmacist. This may occur because the pharmacist misreads the prescription or because he/she is not careful when selecting the appropriate dosage from the pharmacy or hospital shelves.
- Failing to warn or to provide complete, correct instructions. Prescription medications come with instructions as well as warning labels. A pharmacist has a duty to warn a patient about the potential side effects of prescription medication as well as a duty to provide accurate and complete instructions for taking the medication. A failure to do either can cause serious harm to the patient.
Compensation for Damages from Pharmacy Errors
As the victim of a pharmacy error, you may be able to obtain significant compensation for the damages you suffered. These damages may include:
- Existing and future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Inconvenience
- Diminished capacity for enjoying life
- Other damages recoverable under Florida law
Malpractice lawsuits to recover damages due to pharmacy errors can be very complicated and demanding. Proving that a pharmacist or pharmacy technician breached the accepted professional standard of care and that the breach seriously injured a patient requires a thorough investigation into all the details of the case, a comprehensive understanding of all the facts, high quality expert testimony and skill as a trial lawyer.
Get the Experienced, Skillful Help You Need with Your Orlando Pharmacy Negligence Case
Pharmacy errors can cause serious injuries that can negatively impact your quality of life forever. Sadly, pharmacy negligence can even result in death. If you have been the victim of a pharmacy error, or you lost a loved one due to a pharmacy error, the experienced Orlando pharmacy negligence attorneys of Baily Fisher want to help you get the compensation you deserve.
Although most pharmacy negligence cases are settled out of court, it may be necessary to take your case to trial to ensure that you are fully compensated and the negligent party is held accountable. Either way, we have the knowledge, skill and resources to fight successfully for your rights. We are committed to advocating tirelessly on your behalf and vigorously representing your interests both in and out of the courtroom.
If you were injured by a pharmacy error, or you are the surviving loved one of someone who was fatally injured by one, please contact an experienced Orlando pharmacy negligence attorney at Bailey Fisher as soon as possible to discuss your case. Call us at 407-628-2929 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation.