Charleston Prescription Error Lawyers

Prescription, Pharmacy, and Medication Error Cases in South Carolina

Errors by medical providers relating to the prescribing of medication or filling of prescriptions occur far too often and can lead to life-altering injuries, or even death. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional falls short of the standard of care in the provision of medical services, including the prescribing and filling of medication.

Errors by a doctor can include prescribing the wrong medication, prescribing medications that are contraindicated, disregarding allergies, or prescribing the wrong dosage. Errors by the pharmacy can include filling the wrong medication, filling the wrong dosage, or providing the wrong directions on the label.

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Prescription Error

In addition to prescribing errors due to erroneous medical decisions, prescribing errors can also occur as the result of errors in the process of handwriting or typing the prescription.

Slips, lapses, and simple mistakes are all causes for prescribing errors by doctors, as are inadequate knowledge or competence, inadequate communication between doctors and nurses, and incomplete information. Regardless of the source of the fault, these errors can have significant consequences, including death in certain circumstances.

Pharmacy Mis-Fill

Commonly misfiled medications include insulin, opioid narcotics, and antibiotics. Common injuries include a failure to treat the underlying condition, as would be the case when too little insulin or antibiotics are provided, resulting in hypoglycemia or rampant infection, as well as causing new injury, such as respiratory or cardiac arrest with providing too much or too strong a narcotic.

Overworked and Underpaid Pharmacy Staff

Generally speaking, incidents of pharmacy mis-fills occur more frequently on days where a high number of prescriptions are being filled at the pharmacy. Big box store pharmacies compete by operating on razor thin margins and rely on running a high volume of prescriptions through the pharmacy to remain profitable.

They also shift as much of the process of filling prescriptions from the highly compensated pharmacists to lower-cost pharmacy technicians who don’t have the same level of education, training, and experience as pharmacists. This focus on the bottom line can have a significant impact on the patient when an overworked, underpaid pharmacy technician makes an error that is not caught by the pharmacist before the prescription is given to the patient.

Hurt by a Careless Pharmacy or Doctor? Contact Us!

It is important to retain counsel who are experienced in evaluating and litigating prescription error and pharmacy mis-fill cases to maximize the value of your case.