Princeton Medication Error Lawyers
Representing Victims with Injuries Caused by Prescription Errors in Mercer, Burlington, and Middlesex County
It is well known that advances in clinical therapeutics have resulted in major improvements in health and quality of life for patients with many diseases. However, many of these benefits have also been accompanied by higher risks. An exponential increase in the numbers and different types of medications that are prescribed daily by health care professionals has increased the number of errors that occur and have occurred. Medication errors may occur at any point in the medical process of compounding, prescribing, and administering a medication. It is critical to understand the risk and what are your options if you or a loved one has been harmed by a medication error.
Some people that have been affected by medication errors might not suffer any health issues; however, others may not be so lucky. To discuss the legal implications if you were hurt as a result of a prescription mistake, get in touch with our team of lawyers at Cohen & Riechelson right away. Our group of skilled personal injury lawyers will battle to get you the compensation you deserve for your medical costs, lost wages, and suffering in Trenton, Robbinsville, East Windsor, Hamilton, Woodbridge, Lambertville, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Burlington County, and throughout New Jersey.
To schedule a free consultation with our qualified team, call (609) 528-2596 or fill out the online contact form, and we will reach out to you shortly.
Understanding the Concept of a Medication Error in NJ
According to The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP), “A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing, order communication, product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, distribution, administration, education, monitoring, and use”
For patients suffering from several different medical conditions and who take several different medications, these types of mistakes can easily happen and are more common than most realize. Recently, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 29 percent of adults in the United States take five or more different medications, while 82 percent take at least one medication. This translated to hundreds of millions of prescriptions made by medical professionals every year. With this level of activity, it is easy to see how errors can be made. Errors that can result in injuries that may be serious or permanent and even cause death. Shockingly, in excess of 1.3 million people are injured each year due to prescription errors, according to NCCMERP.
Types of Medication Provider Errors You May be Exposed to
Prescription errors may be the result of mistakes made on the part of the provider, such as your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Common provider errors include:
Drug Combination Errors
Perhaps the most dangerous of medication provider mistakes are drug combination errors. It is possible for a physician to inadvertently prescribe two drugs with negative interactions when taken together. A patient may experience these negative interactions even when both prescriptions are taken as instructed. These negative interactions can be severe and even dangerous to the patient’s long-term health and wellbeing.
Wrong Prescription
In addition, a physician or pharmacist may accidentally prescribe the wrong drug to a patient. This may not only cause harm by the negative effects of the incorrect drug but can cause the patient to miss out on the positive effects that the correct drug could have had and further prolong the suffering caused by the patient’s condition.
Wrong Patient
Moreover, much like wrong drug errors, wrong patient errors result in a patient taking the incorrect drug and thus eliminating any positive effect that the proper dedication would have had.
Furthermore, cases where a patient is prescribed or given the wrong dose or frequency of a medication might result in the patient taking multiple doses of the medication, taking the medication too often, or not often enough. These types of errors can result in overdose (when too much is taken) or worsening of symptoms (when not enough is taken).
Possible Injuries Due to Medication Errors
The specific degree and amount of harm that a medication error can cause is difficult if not impossible to predict as it is dependent upon the type of drug, the amount of drug administered, and factors unique to each individual patient. A medication error can cause a patient to suffer symptoms ranging from a mild to severe rash due to allergy, respiratory problems or difficulty, confusion, paralysis, brain damage, birth defects, or even death.
Proving Liability in Prescription Error Cases
Though it is important to note that some medical prescription errors are caused by patients themselves, hospitals, physicians, and pharmacies have the means available to prevent most medication errors from happening. They are required to develop and practice detailed procedures when it comes to prescribing and administering prescription drugs. Modern technologies and software have been developed for the specific purpose of preventing medication errors. So, when the above-mentioned mistakes occur, there is little excuse.
Medical professionals who fail to take the necessary and mandated precautions to protect the safety of you and your loved ones should be held financially accountable. This should include compensation for medical expenses necessary to treat the damage caused, any lost wages, pain and suffering, as well as emotional distress. In addition to loss of support or company in cases of wrongful death.
Contact a Trenton Medication & Prescription Error Attorney for Help Today
A medication error can, and often does, have catastrophic consequences. Steps you take immediately after realizing there was an error are crucial to getting the compensation you deserve. You should collect prescriptions and medication containers as evidence that there was an error. However, the most important step is finding a knowledgeable and experienced attorney that will fight to obtain your compensation.
Though tragic, medication errors happen daily across the country, and should you or someone you know find themselves the victim of this type of negligence, it is essential that you enlist guidance and swift action from a skilled medical malpractice attorney. Our team at Cohen & Riechelson has decades of experience supporting clients and their families who find themselves in these difficult situations in West Windsor, Princeton, Titusville, Hopewell, Ewing, Pennington, and throughout New Jersey, fighting to protect their rights and working to help them recover physically, emotionally, and financially. Contact us at (609) 528-2596 for a free case evaluation and confidential consultation today.
