When Pharmacy Errors Result in Death of a Loved One

By Peter DePaolis
Attorney

Over 7,000 deaths happen each year in the United States due to approximately 30 million pharmacy dispensing errors that occur when filling a doctor’s prescription. According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, one in 1,000 prescriptions that are delivered to consumers contain an error. These mistakes have the capability of causing severe injuries and in many cases, even death.

Recently a $450,000 settlement was reached for a child that was prescribed anti-seizure medication by his doctor. While the prescription was safe, the pharmacy that filled the prescription prescribed ten times the actual prescribed amount of medication to the child, which resulted in permanent brain injury.

These types of injuries occur more often than they should, and if you or your loved ones have been affected by a pharmacy error that has resulted in serious injury, you should talk to a Northern Virginia brain injury attorney to make sure that your family is compensated.

Most common types of pharmacy errors

  • Dispensing an incorrect dosage
  • Dispensing a wrong medication
  • Not giving proper instructions on ingesting prescribed medication to the patient

These types of errors usually occur because pharmacy technicians have a high workload and thus have less time to fill each prescription. With the demands of the job, many pharmacy technicians are overworked and mistakes occur, causing irreversible consequences. If you or your family has experienced a serious injury due to a pharmacy error, contact a Northern Virginia brain injury lawyer to see if you may have a claim against the pharmacy.

Errors in intravenous drugs used by hospital patients

Intravenous solutions that are prepared for hospital patients are also dispensed by pharmacies. These may contain the wrong drug or dosage as well. This may stem from a mistake done by a pharmacy technician or by a hospital nurse that enters the data incorrectly into a computer that is used to administer the intravenous solutions to patients. Regardless of how the mistake is made, it can result in severe injury or death to the patient. In these types of situations, a Northern Virginia brain injury attorney should be contacted to assess whether compensation is available in your case. A Northern Virginia brain injury lawyer is your best option for getting back all that you have lost due to someone else’s mistake.

About the Author
Peter DePaolis joined the firm in 1980 and has since represented a large number of individuals involved in automobile collisions, truck accidents, bus crashes, defective products, and medical malpractice cases. A significant portion of Mr. DePaolis’ practice is devoted to working on behalf of people suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related cancers. He has led his firm’s fight against the asbestos industry and has recovered over $30 million in damages for asbestos victims and their families.