Pharmacist Negligence and Liability - Not Always a Cut and Dry Matter

 Posted on March 20, 2016 in Medical Malpractice

While a pharmacist’s ability to cause harm is not limited to the medications they do or do not dispense, error can have severe consequences for patients. Take, for example, that a pharmacist dispenses the wrong drug; their patient could be at risk for any number of adverse events, including an allergic reaction, a bad drug interaction (when one drug adversely interacts with another drug), health complications, and even death. Common sense says the pharmacists should be held liable in this situation. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Common Mistakes Made by Pharmacists

Based on an analysis conducted by the Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO), wrong drug dispersion and wrong dose calculation accounted for the majority of the mistakes made by pharmacists over the course of 10 years – 75.3 percent combined (43.8 percent and 31.5 percent, respectively).

Infection or contamination, compounding errors, failure to counsel the patient, wrong form or route of drug, failure to identify a drug allergy, failure to identify an overdose, failure to provide child-resistant cap, failure to consult with prescribing physician over any questions or concerns, and wrong strength made up the remaining mistakes made over that time period.

Skilled Legal Representation Key

Because negligence cases against pharmacists are often difficult to identify and often just as difficult to win, victims should always secure the assistance of a skilled attorney. At Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, we take your case seriously and will fight aggressively for your right to fair compensation. To learn more, contact our experienced Chicago medical negligence attorneys and schedule a free initial consultation. Call 312-605-8800 today.

Sources:

https://www.cna.com/vcm_content/CNA/internet/Static%20File%20for%20Download/Risk%20Control/Medical%20Services/2013PharmacistLiability-ATen-yearAnalysis-03-2013.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8362880

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2010/june2010/pharmacylaw-0610