Pharmacists Can Commit Medical Malpractice, Too

When most people think of medical malpractice, they think of surgeries that have gone wrong, or incorrect diagnoses. While surgeons leaving sponges inside patients, nurses giving the wrong medication dosage, or doctors not noticing an obvious sign of cancer are a significant portion of medical malpractice lawsuits, they are not the only ones. In fact, these are not the only medical professionals that can commit malpractice.

Pharmacist Malpractice

Pharmacists play a huge part in the medical system. They take prescriptions written by doctors and administer the correct drug and dosage to the person carrying the prescription. Unfortunately, there are numerous ways for this to go wrong, causing a devastating results to someone who had hoped their prescription would help them get better.

The rate of medical malpractice committed by pharmacists is staggering. According to a 2009 study conducted by the American Pharmacists Association, there was a dispensing error rate in “more than one in five prescriptions.” While many of these errors were considered to be “harmless,” the sheer volume of errors shows how prevalent these kinds of malpractice actually are.

Luckily, pharmacists are among the medical professionals who can be sued through medical malpractice lawsuits. While this does not turn back time and make a terrible and unnecessary medical injury go away, it can help compensate you for the suffering that you did not deserve.

Examples of Medical Malpractice Committed by Pharmacists

Some of the errors committed by pharmacists come from simple negligence. In 2009, a senior citizen in Santa Barbara, California went to CVS to get an anti-diarrheal prescription filled. However, the pharmacist misread the prescription, and gave him a blood-thinning medication. The patient was already on blood thinners, and taking the new medication caused severe complications that led to massive bleeding that required him to be rushed to the hospital.

Other pharmacist errors come from their lack of medical knowledge. In 2014, a patient asked a Chicago pharmacist which sinus medication she could take with her anti-epilepsy prescription. The pharmacist recommended Sudafed. However, this recommendation put the patient in a coma. She still suffers from lingering memory loss.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Can Get You the Compensation You Deserve

The medical complications that pharmacist errors can cause are often debilitating and expensive to treat. Medical malpractice lawsuits, however, are not just for doctors, nurses, and surgeons. They can also be made against pharmacists that make these medical mistakes that can just as much suffering as those made on an operating table.

If you or someone you love were the victim of a pharmaceutical mistake, the best way for you to get the compensation that you deserve is to file a medical malpractice claim. The attorneys at Gilman & Bedigian are experienced personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers. Contact us for a free consultation.