Whose responsibility is it to make sure patients clearly understand what type of medication they are receiving, how it should be taken and what the possible side effects might be? In some situations, medication errors are caused by medical malpractice when doctors, nurses or pharmacists fail to provide a reasonable standard of care or service. New York patients who suffer illness or injury due to medication mistakes may be entitled to address their situations in court.
Many medication disasters are prevented when patients are especially attentive to their care. One can ask a doctor the exact name of a medication when it is prescribed, for instance, so that if a pharmacist distributes the wrong drug, the error may be caught before any physical damage is done. Patients can also ask questions regarding proper dosage or whether their medicines need to taken with food, etc.
There are warning labels on most medications to alert those taking them of potential dangers. However, this doesn’t help much if a hospital nurse is the one administering the medication. In many instances, patients are in such precarious states of health they are only vaguely aware of what’s happening around them, much less whether their medications are being properly dispensed.
When a medical error occurs and someone suffers illness or injury because of a medication error (or any other medical mistake, for that matter) it may be possible to seek justice. A medical malpractice claim filed in a New York civil court may be an appropriate remedy. In doing so, it’s best to act alongside experienced and determined legal representation in order to increase the chances of obtaining a positive outcome.
Source: fda.gov, “6 Tips to Avoid Medication Mistakes“, Accessed on Aug. 2, 2017
