When you hand your prescription over to a pharmacy, do you trust that it will be filled correctly? Most people would say yes, whether they visit a local small business in their neighborhood or a major retailer, such as CVS or Walgreens. Sacramento has no shortage of pharmacies to choose form, and many of them offer quick and efficient service in as little as 15 minutes.
Though we all love getting in and out of a store quickly, this can lead to medication errors if the people working at the pharmacy are careless in their duties. In some cases, you may even have someone who is intentionally causing harm to patients that need specific medications prescribed by their doctor. Victims of medication errors can be seriously injured, with some people experiencing permanent, irreversible damage.
If you suffered because of medication errors by a pharmacy in Sacramento, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. For more information on suing a pharmacy for negligence resulting medication error, contact our law firm today.
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Medication Errors and Why They Happen
It’s important to understand what “medication error” means in a legal sense. After all, anyone can make a mistake and take the wrong medication or dosage, and thankfully, many of these are minor incidents that cause little to no symptoms.
However, this is a not the same thing as medication errors where a pharmacist failed in their professional duty of care to the customer. Examples of prescription drug errors include
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Mislabeling of a prescription
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Prescription label has the wrong dosage
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Pharmacists gives patient a prescription for someone else
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Prescription does not have vital instructions
Please note that a certain degree of error is possible in any line of work, no matter the professional’s level of education and experience. However, those working at a pharmacy have standards of care that apply to patient interactions and how they process the necessary medications. When there is a breach in the standard of care, a pharmacist, pharmacy tech, and assistants may be guilty of negligence or misconduct.
When there is a mistake caused by pharmacy negligence, patients can be seriously harmed, even killed from the effects of taking the wrong medicine or not using it properly. Errors in medication can happen for many reasons, including undertrained staff, failure to supervise, and overworking in places where understaffing is a chronic issue. Constantly rushing to fill orders when there is a guaranteed time frame is another contributing factor in cases of pharmacy malpractice.
What are the Effects of Medication Errors?
If staff members at a pharmacy make mistakes during the fulfillment of a prescription, the patient can have adverse side effects, which may include:
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Dizziness
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Fainting
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Unexplained weakness and fatigue
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Diarrhea
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Nausea
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Vomiting
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Headaches
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Allergic reactions, like anaphylaxis
If the patient takes the wrong medication, wrong dose, etc., for a long period of time, they can lose their lives and leave their loved ones with unimaginable grief and financial losses. If you lost someone in your family to a prescription medication error, please consider a free consultation with one of our attorneys. Out team of wrongful death lawyers can inform you of your rights and help you decide on the right course of action.
What is the Compensation I can Receive?
If you are eligible to file a pharmacy negligence claim, you can receive compensation towards your monetary losses. With these cases, you are likely to qualify for non-economic damages as well, which compensates you for emotional and psychological suffering. Below are the payments that can be recovered from a pharmacy malpractice lawsuit:
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Medical expenses
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Pain and suffering
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Lost wages / income
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Emotional distress
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Punitive damages
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Cost of legal representation
By meeting with a Sacramento pharmacy medication error attorney, you can learn about the damages that are owed to you by the other party. Our legal team has decades of representing victims of medical malpractice and recovering maximum payment from an insurance claim or lawsuit. Call us today and talk to a lawyer that can sue for injuries caused by medication errors.
The Statute of Limitations for Your Claim
Prior to filing a claim for malpractice, you must understand that the courts impose a deadline on all legal cases, including lawsuits for bodily harm. With medical malpractice cases, you must initiate a lawsuit by:
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1 year of when the injury / act of malpractice occurred
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3 years from when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the harm inflicted by a negligent pharmacist.
As you can see, the statute of limitations is not always a black and white issue. Thus, we suggest that you contact our office and speak with a member of our legal team.
We are Here to Help, 24/7
Mistakes with prescription drugs are not just a matter of taking one pill over another. Patients can end up with complications that compromise their quality of life. Or, they may lose their life altogether if the resulting complications are serious enough.
Here at Normandie, we know what it takes to hold pharmacies responsible when they breach their duty of care to the public. We also ensure that your finances are protected from start to finish with the Zero Fee Guarantee. You can hire us on a contingency basis, meaning you do not have to pay a single penny upfront. When your settlement is recovered, we will deduct a percentage to cover all legal fees. So, if we don’t win, you lose absolutely nothing.
Reach out to us at your earliest opportunity and schedule a free case evaluation. We look forward to fighting for your rights and joining you on the path to recovery.
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