It is important that you take the right amount of medication when you receive a prescription from a doctor. However, sometimes pharmacists fill the prescription with the wrong dosage. This error could result in you taking too much or too little of your medication and experiencing serious side effects.
In this situation, you can reach out to Distasio Law Firm to get legal help on your side. Our pharmacy malpractice attorneys may be able to help you build a claim to get compensation for your medical expenses and other losses. Find out more by contacting a St. Petersburg wrong dosage lawyer from Distasio Law Firm now.
Wrong Dosage Errors Could Cause an Overdose
Many forms of medication come in multiple dosage levels. These medications may look very similar to one another, even if they contain wildly different amounts of a drug. If you receive a drug that is too strong for your needs, you could end up overdosing on a medication due to a medication error, as presented here by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
An overdose may be a very serious concern if you were given, for example, pain medication or sleeping medication. Taking too much of these medications could have serious repercussions, including life-threatening injuries or even a wrongful death.
If you are unsure if the pharmacist gave you the correct dosage, do not hesitate to ask before accepting the medication.
Wrong Dosage Errors May Impact Your Ability to Heal
It may be dangerous to take too much of a prescription drug, but taking too little of a medication could also have negative effects on your well-being. You may need to take a certain amount of a drug to recover from an infection, for example, or to keep your pain at a reasonable level.
If you received the wrong dosage of a medication, an experienced wrong dosage lawyer in St. Petersburg from Distasio Law Firm may be able to step in on your behalf. Your lawyer may focus on building a claim for you if you received medication that was too strong or that was not strong enough.
Distasio Law Firm believes in holding medical professionals and pharmacists responsible for their actions. Find out more about your options for building a claim if you experienced injuries due to a pharmacy error call for help right now.
Causes of Wrong Dosage Errors
Pharmacists must go to school for many years before they are legally permitted to handle medications. This amount of training should limit the number of errors made by workers in a pharmacy. Unfortunately, wrong dosage errors still occur for a number of reasons. According to Mayo Clinic, these errors may occur because a pharmacist:
- Misunderstands the orders from your doctor
- Cannot read the medical abbreviations on your prescription
In other situations, a pharmacist may provide you with unclear instructions for taking your medication. For example, your pharmacist may instruct you to cut a pain medication in half and only take half a pill at a time. If these instructions were not clear, you may accidentally take a whole pill, resulting in a wrong dosage for the drug.
Determine Liability for a Wrong Dosage Injury
As we mentioned, pharmacists may provide you with the wrong dosage of a medication for a number of reasons. In some instances, these errors are a result of an accident. In such situations, no one may be considered at-fault for your injuries.
However, pharmacists may also commit acts of medical malpractice when they provide a patient with the wrong dosage of medication. You may be able to build a malpractice claim if your lawyer demonstrates that:
- The pharmacist had a doctor-patient relationship with you
- The pharmacist failed to uphold the standard of care expected in their position
- The pharmacist’s actions directly led to your injuries
At Distasio Law Firm, our St. Petersburg wrong dosage attorneys provide personalized attention to clients who experienced an injury as a result of an act of pharmacy malpractice. We can offer your legal guidance and support, and help you build your claim, while you focus on recovering from your injuries.
Secure Compensation After a Wrong Dosage Injury
You may be able to get compensation if you suffered an injury because you received the wrong dosage of a medication. In order to secure compensation for your losses, a lawyer can review your case and may be able to file a medical malpractice claim.
Distasio Law Firm will investigate your situation, review the history of the pharmacy, and the pharmacist who filled your prescription. In some instances, pharmacists provide inaccurate medication to more than one person. This may help your claim if multiple instances can be found that the pharmacist who filled your prescription made errors in filling other prescriptions as well.
Your lawyer may speak to insurance agents representing the pharmacist on your behalf. Note that the insurance company may offer you a settlement quickly after you received the wrong medication. Generally, we recommend that you do not accept this settlement until you have had a lawyer look it over.
Insurance agents sometimes attempt to get you to accept a settlement before you even know how many medical expenses you will face. Speak to a lawyer regarding the best time to settle your claim. Distasio Law Firm focuses on assessing your unique needs after a wrong dosage injury, to help you get compensation for all of your losses.
We are also prepared to file a lawsuit on your behalf if the insurance company refuse to agree to a fair settlement in your claim.
Contact a St. Petersburg Wrong Dosage Attorney Today
If receiving the wrong strength of a medication caused your illness or injury, you could get compensation for your losses. A St. Petersburg wrong dosage lawyer from Distasio Law Firm can help. Call today to speak with a member of our team.
