Chicago Medication Error Lawyer

Medication errors happen far too often. A study by the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health cited 7,000 deaths per year from medication errors in hospitals, while the Institute of Medicine estimates that, on average, there is at least one medication error per hospital patient per day. These errors include:

  • 400,000 preventable drug-related injuries in hospitals
  • 800,000 medication injuries in long-term care settings (such as nursing homes)
  • 530,000 medical errors among Medicare recipients in outpatient clinics

Medication errors are now so rampant that researchers at Johns Hopkins believe that they – and other medical errors – are the third leading cause of death in the United States. This situation is simply unacceptable. Our medication error attorneys are here to make things right when your healthcare provider fails to provide you with proper care.

Get Justice After a Medication Error: Our Lawyers Can Help

If you or a loved one was injured due to a medication error, the medication error lawyers from the law offices of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. can help. We can help prepare a medical malpractice claim based on the circumstances surrounding the medical error and fight to recover the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about your legal options and to receive a free consultation with one of our knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyers.

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Who Is Responsible for Medication Errors?

medication error lawyer chicagoMany people may be involved in an individual’s care, so a medication error can occur at any stage in the treatment process. Parties that are often held responsible for medication errors include:

  • Drug manufacturers – Drug manufacturers can defectively design drugs that lead to patient harm. They may also negligently market their drugs or fail to provide adequate warnings to patients. 
  • Prescribing doctor – The prescribing doctor may be held responsible when they prescribe an inappropriate drug, a drug that has harmful interactions with other medications the patient is taking, or the wrong dosage of a drug.  
  • Pharmacy – Pharmacies are sometimes responsible for medication errors when they dispense the wrong drug or the wrong dosage of a drug. 
  • Hospital staff – If nurses or other healthcare professionals administer medications incorrectly, give the wrong drug, or administer the wrong dosage, these hospital staff members may be responsible for the medication error.
  • Other medical professionals – Other medical professionals who are involved in a patient’s care including anesthesiologists may be held responsible for medication errors they cause.

A medication error attorney can investigate the facts surrounding your medication error and determine which parties are responsible for the harm you suffered. 

Common Types of Medication Errors

There are many different ways that medication errors can occur. A medication lawyer can investigate how your medication occurred and who is responsible. Some common types of medication errors include:

  • The prescribing doctor prescribes an incorrect drug
  • A pharmacy error causes the wrong customer to receive the wrong drug
  • A healthcare professional prescribes an incorrect dosage to a patient
  • A doctor prescribes a drug that has harmful interactions with other drugs
  • The medication was properly prescribed but the drug was defectively designed
  • A new medication is given to a patient, but the patient’s condition is not one of the conditions that the drug was meant to treat

Why Do Medication Errors Occur? 

Rapid advancement in healthcare has occurred over the last few decades. Conditions that were once fatal can now be treated with medication. However, medication is an exact science. A patient’s prescription is based on many factors, including their body mass index, their condition, their health history, other drugs they are taking, and other factors. 

When a healthcare professional makes an error in the prescription, timing, dosage, or administration of medication, devastating injuries or death can occur. Several factors may contribute to the commission of medication errors, such as miscommunication, distractions, or mistakes in patient charts. 

Some of the most common causes of medication errors are:

  • Illegible handwritten prescription leads to a pharmacy error
  • Failure to collect relevant information about the patient’s medical history
  • Insufficient or missing information about prescription medications, past dose-response relationships, laboratory values, and patient’s allergies
  • Pharmacist misreads a prescription due to sloppy handwriting 
  • Inaccurate information in computer systems
  • Medication orders are filled for those with similar-sounding names 
  • Incorrect medication provided because medical charts or records are mixed up
  • Accidentally switching a patient’s prescribed medications
  • Medication mistakes that occur in fast-paced emergency rooms 
  • Medical mistakes caused by inattentiveness, inexperience, or understaffed medical facilities
  • Labeling errors
  • Medical mistakes made in laboratory work or when handling test results
  • Using the wrong method to administer the drug
  • Administering the medication at the wrong time or without food
  • Injection errors
  • Failure to monitor a patient’s conditions after being prescribed medication
  • Misdiagnosis leading to medication error 

The medication error lawyers at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. can investigate the medication error that harmed you and collect the necessary evidence to establish liability. 

Prescription Errors Are Preventable

Medication errors are preventable injuries, and they always happen as a result of carelessness. Many prescription drug errors occur when healthcare professionals are rushed and prescribe the wrong medication. The Medication Error Reporting Program operated cooperatively by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) says drugs with similar-sounding names may account for up to 25 percent of all pharmacy errors, according to the Institute of Medicines. Labeling and packaging issues were cited as the cause of 33 percent of errors, including 30 percent of fatalities, reported to the program.

Another common cause of prescription errors is the over-distribution of free samples. Both the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and the Institute of Medicines said physicians’  distribution of free drug samples provided by manufacturers has become a worrisome factor in medication errors. When free drug samples are distributed, there is no proper documentation of the medications’ use by the patient, and the usual drug-interaction checks and counseling that are integral parts of the standard prescription process are neglected, the organizations said.

In other situations, injuries due to medication errors could have been prevented had the healthcare providers complied with the applicable medical standards that are designed to prevent such injuries. 

What Compensation Can You Recover from a Medication Error Lawsuit? 

If patient harm occurs due to a medication error, the victim may be able to recover compensation for the losses they have suffered as a result of their injuries. A basic tenet of medical malpractice law is that victims should not have to shoulder the financial burden that was brought on by someone else’s mistake. Through a medical malpractice claim, a victim may be able to seek compensation for:

  • Medical bills and ongoing medical care
  • Lost wages
  • Reduced earning capacity
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress

The medication attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. have extensive experience representing clients in medication error lawsuits. We can pursue full and fair compensation on your behalf. Let us tell you more about the potential value of your claim when you contact us for a free initial consultation with a medication error attorney.

How a Medication Error Attorney Can Help 

When a patient is harmed by a negligent act or failure to act by a doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant, pharmacist, or others involved with administering medication, it may be an actionable case of pharmacist malpractice, hospital negligence, medical negligence, or medical malpractice. This might include failure to follow procedures established to prevent medication errors, as well as failure to diagnose, treat, or manage a medication overdose or the administration of incorrect medication.

Depending on the circumstances, a hospital, the hospital staff, a pharmacy, or another medical care provider and its staff may be defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit that seeks compensation for the victim of a medication error or a deceased victim’s surviving family members.

A medication error attorney with experience in medical malpractice claims can help evaluate the circumstances of your injury or your loved one’s injury or death from a pharmaceutical error. They can collect evidence, investigate what led to the accident, and hold negligent parties accountable for the harm they caused. 

An attorney works with accredited medical experts to determine whether pharmacological and healthcare standards were met. A lawyer will be able to advise you of your legal options.

For instance, in a recent case, the medication error lawyers of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. secured a record-setting $8.25 million settlement on behalf of a Chicago couple whose prematurely born son died at a Park Ridge hospital after receiving a lethal dose of sodium in his IV nutrient bag. The case not only secured the couple’s financial future, but it prompted the hospital to heighten its focus on patient safety and take comprehensive steps to ensure similar errors do not occur in the future.

Contact a Chicago Medication Error Lawyer Today

At Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., we believe that when patients suffer injury due to a medication error or other medical mistake, they have the right to full and fair compensation for the harm they have suffered. Our diverse team of top litigators has recovered more than $2.5 billion to date in different types of medical malpractice claims. Let our experienced Chicago medication error lawyers help you. Call us toll free or use our online form. We help medication error victims throughout Illinois, including in Chicago, Waukegan, Cook County, Lake County, and surrounding communities.

Remember: Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within strict deadlines. It is important to get a start on your case as soon as possible. Contact us immediately for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you will owe us nothing unless and until we recover compensation on your behalf.