Chris didn’t think twice about picking up his prescription refills. He had taken these drugs for years and never had any adverse effects. But this time was different. When Chris actually took the pills, he was rushed to the hospital with a severe reaction. His family looked over his drug refills and realized that the pharmacy had dispensed an unrelated drug instead of the one prescribed by Chris’s doctor. With Chris in a medically-induced coma, his family was left wondering not only about his health, but whether compensation is available for pharmacy errors like this one if he became unable to take care of his loved ones.
If you’ve experienced this type of situation, ask yourself the following questions.
Yes. Under Florida law, pharmacists do owe their patients a duty to provide care at a skill and professional level that other reasonable pharmacists would use.
For example, pharmacists must provide prescriptions as authorized by the patient’s medical provider. But if that prescription is invalid or harmful in some way, the pharmacist is responsible for challenging the doctor’s order.
Providing incorrect medication is just one instance where a pharmacist violated their duty of care.
In some cases, yes. Talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer to find out if your unique situation is considered a breach.
For example, a pharmacist reviews a doctor’s prescription. It looks reasonable, and there are no warning signs, so the medication is dispensed to the patient. However, the doctor’s prescription was wrong. The pharmacist could be at fault for the patient’s injuries if they should have known the prescription was wrong.
Sometimes the breach is the doctor’s fault, sometimes the pharmacist is to blame, and sometimes both are responsible.
The issue here is that injuries range from simple (like a headache) to severe (like severe, life-threatening allergic reactions). Proving slight injuries might be difficult. However, you should certainly address the issue with your pharmacist or talk with an attorney.
Also, were you really physically harmed? If you noticed the pharmacy error before taking the medication, you probably were not injured. Typically, you may not have a case unless you were traumatized in some other way.
If you feel pharmacy errors injured you, save any records to provide to your personal injury lawyer.
Some pharmacy errors occur, but no one is harmed. Other patients may become violently ill, leading to hospitalizations or even death.
In the example given above, Chris took the incorrect drugs given to him by his pharmacist and was injured. He incurred medical bills, might have long-lasting effects and may have missed out on work. Chris’s situation probably meets all the elements needed to prove a case involving pharmacy errors.
If your pharmacist’s mistake caused you to incur medical expenses or harmed you in any way, talk to an attorney to see if you can be compensated.
We understand personal injury laws as they apply to mistakes made by your pharmacy or pharmacist. In fact, we have already helped clients in similar situations.
If you have been hurt because of someone else’s negligence, you need help from top-rated, hard-working representation. At Shapiro|Delgado, our attorneys put their injury law experience to work for you. And we handle cases on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid unless you do.
We represent clients throughout Florida, including Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, and surrounding communities.
To set up a free personal consultation, call 941-954-4000 or use our convenient online contact form.
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