Steve Clark and Associates

Proudly Serving The Greater Oklahoma City Area

Prescription Error

Prescription medications are used to enhance medical care for patients for nearly every known condition. These drugs fight infections and prevent the advancement of diseases. Medications can be used to enhance health and cure common conditions. Medications can become dangerous drugs, however, when medical professionals do not prescribe them accurately.

 

A dangerous medication can be one that:

 

  • Is the wrong strength for your current condition
  • Is the wrong drug for your condition
  • Interacts with other medications that your doctor has prescribed
  • Is a medication that the patient is known to have an allergy
  • The prescribing physician failed to warn about the dangerous side effects

 

Doctors must take into account many factors when they are prescribing a medication. Your age, health condition, weight, must be considered before establishing a dosage amount. They must consider if you are taking any other medications, including over the counter meds and factor in reactions. They must also take into consideration if you have any known allergies to medications that contain the same or similar ingredients.

 

A physician must also provide the patient with information about the possible dangerous side effects of the medication. This means more than a paper pamphlet that is thrown in with the prescription bottle at the pharmacy. The doctor is obligated to explain serious and dangerous side effects to the patient so that they can make an informed choice on whether they wish to take the medication.

 

Medical malpractice can also occur if:

 

  • The wrong amount of the medication is administered by the medical staff during a treatment
  • The wrong medication is administered by the staff during a treatment
  • The medication is mislabeled for type, strength or dosing information by the pharmacy

If you have been harmed by the actions of a medical professional concerning your medications, speak with a medical malpractice attorney about the event. Speaking to an attorney will help you to protect your rights as a victim of malpractice.

 

Understanding Malpractice

 

Medical malpractice is a very distinct set of laws that apply to patients who are harmed by the actions of a medical professional. Through medical errors, the use of dangerous drugs, or other negligent actions, a patient can be harmed by a care provider. When this occurs, it is considered malpractice.

 

This should not be confused with an undesirable outcome to a medical condition. There must be a deviation from the acceptable form of treatment for a condition for malpractice to have occurred. Surprisingly, this is very common with prescription errors.

 

How Often Does Medication Related Medical Malpractice Occur?

 

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that nearly 1.3 million people a year are harmed by dangerous medications. This number is further verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has additionally stated that the number has the potential to be much higher because many people do not report these incidences.

 

If you use the figure of 1.3 million people being harmed by medications each year, that is equivalent to nearly 3,600 people each day being injured by medical malpractice only concerning medications. This is simply unacceptable.

 

If you have been harmed by a medical practitioner due to medications, it is imperative that you speak with an OKC medical malpractice attorney about your case. Seeking damages for the harm that has been caused and the losses you have incurred is the only way to bring attention to this escalating problem.

What To Do If You Believe That You Have Been Harmed By A Dangerous Prescription

 

If you believe that you have been harmed by a dangerous prescription, you should take the following steps:

 

  • Seek Immediate Medical Care. Your health is important. If you have been injured or harmed due to a medication error, you will want to get immediate medical care to stabilize your health. The medical professional should be informed of what medications you took or what was administered so that they can treat you quickly and documentation of the event is made.
  • Document Everything. As soon as your health is stabilized you will want to record everything that you remember about the event. Write down every detail, even if it seems unimportant. This documentation will be very helpful when you speak to an attorney about your case. You should also keep an injury journal of what happened since the injury took place. This would include treatments and how it impacted your life.
  • Do Not Confront Doctor. It will never be in your best interest to confront the medical professional who harmed you with the medication. It is understandable that you are very angry about the entire event. However, allow the law to step in and protect you in this manner instead of confronting anyone about the malpractice event.
  • Speak With An OKC Medical Malpractice Attorney. Speaking with an attorney as soon as possible after the event has occurred is the best way to protect your rights and build a case against the offending medical professional.

 

It is also very important to avoid posting information on social media about the event, the follow-up care, or anything you discuss with your attorney about the case. Social media posts are public information and can be viewed by anybody – including the defense attorneys and their insurers.

 

It is also very important that you refrain from posting any pictures of yourself on social media at this time. Your picture may be an old photo that you ran across and want to share. The insurance company representing the medical profession, however, sees a picture of you smiling or having a good time and they use this picture as evidence that you were not harmed. Even though it is an older picture, the date stamp will be new on social media, and it can be held against your case.

 

Your attorney will give you more information on how to protect your rights and your case while it is taking place. It will always be in your best interest to follow the guidelines of your attorney to protect your rights and your case.