Miami Medication Malpractice Attorney
Whether you take prescription medications on a daily basis or have had medication administered in a hospital setting as part of a surgical procedure or emergency situation, you are relying on everyone involved in the medication-use system to ensure that the medication will not harm you. Unfortunately, however, medication errors are rather common and can be fatal. In fact, 7,000 – 9,000 people die each year in the United States because of a medication error, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
If you or a loved one were injured because of a medication error, you may be suffering from physical injuries, emotional trauma, and financial hardship. Your injuries may be affecting your ability to work, interact with your family and enjoy the many activities you used to enjoy. The experienced Miami medical malpractice attorneys at Boyers Law Group understand these difficulties and want to help. We have been helping victims of medical malpractice throughout Florida get the compensation they deserve for their injuries for over twenty-five years and will put our knowledge, skill and experience to work fighting for justice for you.
Medical malpractice is among the most complex and convoluted areas of the law, so having an experienced Miami malpractice attorney with a record of success on your side is crucial. We have the experience and resources to help you hold the responsible party (or parties) accountable for the damages their negligence has caused, and we are committed to successfully advocating and litigating on your behalf to maximize the compensation you receive for your injuries or loss.
Please call us at 305-512-7600 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to get expert advice from an experienced Miami medication malpractice attorney.
What Is a Medication Error?
According to the NLM, close to 6,800 prescription medications and an unknown number of additional over-the-counter drugs are available in the United States. Preventable medication errors are believed to impact more than seven million patients each year, costing over $40 billion annually. One in three hospitalized patients has at least one medication discrepancy on discharge medication reconciliation. Many medication errors go unrecognized and even more go unreported; however, more than 100,000 reports associated with a suspected medication error are filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) each year.
Some of these medication errors are obvious and easily identified; however, there is no universally accepted definition for the term “medication error.” Most legal and medical professionals accept the definition used by the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention defining a medication error as: “… any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer.”
How Do Medication Errors Occur?
A medication error can occur at any point during the medication-use system, including when a medication is prescribed, when medication information is entered into a computer system, when medications are prepared or dispended, or when a medication is administered or taken by a patient. Although a medication error can happen for a variety of reasons, studies show that healthcare professionals being “distracted” is a factor in about 75 percent of medication error cases.
Some common ways in which these medication errors can occur include:
- Prescribing/ordering the wrong medication
- Inaccurately transcribing prescription medication
- Making a mistake while inputting a medication order into a computer system
- Failing to identify an allergy
- Prescribing medication to the wrong patient
- Failing to prescribe medication
- Prescribing the wrong dosage (too much or too little)
- Administering the wrong medication
- Failing to recognize a contraindication
- Administering expired medication
- Making an error while filling a prescription (wrong medication or wrong dosage)
- Administering medication too early or too late
When these failures or errors are caused by negligence on the part of a healthcare professional and their failure or error injures a patient, the patient has the right to hold them legally responsible for the pain, suffering and losses associated with their injuries by bringing a medical malpractice claim against them. If you or a family member has been injured by a healthcare professional’s medication error, an experienced medical malpractice attorney from Boyers Law Group can help you file a medical malpractice claim and obtain the compensation you deserve for the damages you have suffered and may continue to suffer in the future.
When Is a Medication Error Medical Malpractice?
When a medication error is made by a doctor, pharmacist, hospital staff, or another healthcare professional, an injured patient may have the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Not all medication errors rise to the level of medical malpractice; however, when the error was preventable, there is a good chance that the law will consider it to have been medical malpractice.
Healthcare professionals, such as doctors, anesthesiologists, and pharmacists, are held to a high standard of care because of the specialized training they must undergo to be licensed to provide care to patients. The applicable “standard of care” for healthcare professionals in the State of Florida can be found in Florida Statute 766.102(1). That statute defines the standard of care as “that level of care, skill, and treatment which, in light of all relevant surrounding circumstances, is recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar healthcare providers.”
In the case of a medication error, the standard of care would require an injured patient to prove that another healthcare professional with similar training and experience, under the same circumstances, would not have committed the error that led to injury to the patient. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Boyers Law Group have the knowledge, skill and resources needed to prove that you were the victim of substandard care, or medical negligence. We will investigate your medication error injury, amass the documents and expert testimony needed to establish negligence on the healthcare professional’s part and build a compelling case for your need for substantial compensation.
What Compensation Can I Get in a Miami Medication Error Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
Whether a medication error occurs because of an act or a failure to act on the part of a healthcare provider, the result can be serious, even deadly injury to the patient. Along with physical and emotional injuries, a patient may incur additional medical expenses directly related to the medication error. When a medication error is fatal, the surviving family members suffer many losses, including the emotional and financial support of the deceased.
If you were injured because of a medication error, you might be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages from the negligent healthcare professional(s) who caused the error. Economic damages are intended to compensate an injured party for direct expenses related to the defendant’s negligence and may include things such as:
- Doctor, hospital, and surgical expenses related to the medication error injury
- Lost income and wages
- Rehabilitation, therapy and care expenses
Non-economic damages are aimed at compensating an injured party for indirect, subjective injuries related to the defendant’s negligence and often include compensation for things such as:
- Psychological trauma
- Scarring, disfigurement and disability
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished capacity to enjoy life
- Family member’s loss of your companionship, assistance and guidance
If you are the surviving spouse or child of someone who died because of a medication error, you may be entitled to compensation in a Florida wrongful death lawsuit. The Boyers Law Group attorneys will help you pursue justice and obtain the full, fair compensation to which you are entitled.
Contact an Experienced Miami Medication Malpractice Attorney
It can be emotionally traumatic to learn that instead of healing you, the healthcare professional you trusted caused you further injury by making a medication mistake. When that is the case, the healthcare professional should be held accountable for their negligence.
As the victim of a medication error or the surviving family member of someone killed by a medication error, you should also be fully and fairly compensated, to the extent possible, for your injuries or loss. The Miami medication malpractice attorneys at Boyers Law Group are dedicated to identifying the healthcare professional(s) responsible for your injuries or loss and ensuring that you receive the full compensation to which you are entitled.
We feel a deep sense of responsibility to each client because we know that if you come to us for help, you have been seriously injured because of negligence on the part of a trusted healthcare professional. You deserve answers to your questions, as well as the maximum compensation allowable under the law.
Please call us at 305-512-7600 or submit the “Tell Us What Happened” form on our website to get expert advice from an experienced Miami medication malpractice attorney.