Pharmacy Errors

Injured by a Pharmacy Dispensing Error

Many Massachusetts residents are highly selective with the medications they put in their bodies, and rightfully so. We carefully analyze the pros and cons of any medication a doctor recommends and decide if it is worth taking. Unfortunately, while we are very involved on the physician side of the operation, we don’t consider that all of our careful considerations may fall to the wayside by pharmacist error. Pharmacists are juggling a lot of responsibilities with little supervision. Your order may filter into a pharmacy with only one person filing your request, filling your prescription, and giving it to you, with little to no check by his or her superiors or peers. While we don’t like to think that our doctors and pharmacists as careless, the fact is: they are people who make mistakes. One pharmacist acknowledged making between 10-12 errors annually, and those were just the ones that were caught. If you suffer due to the negligence of your pharmacist, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Pharmacy dispensing errors come in many forms. This includes packaging the incorrect dosage, the wrong medication, giving someone else’s medication, giving a medication to which you have an allergy, medications prescribed that have adverse effects when taken together, as well as giving the wrong instructions for taking the medication. These simple mistakes can lead to permanent injury, or even death for certain patients.

Our first concern is your safety. There are a few things you can do to prevent an injury like this from occurring.

• Talk to the pharmacist. This gives him or her an additional opportunity to recognize a mistake.
• Open the bag. If you routinely receive the same prescription you may recognize that the new one looks different. This may be a result of the pharmacist using a different brand, but it is often worth it to ask.
• Read the instructions. Make sure the dosage and schedule match what you are being treated for.
• Report any error immediately. If there is an error, it is likely not an isolated incident. Your medication may have been switched for another’s. This will also put the pharmacist on notice of his or her mistake, and force him or her to exercise greater care in the future.

The law recognizes pharmacist error as falling under the medical malpractice umbrella. Pharmacists have a duty to show their customers a heightened duty of care as members of the medical profession. We will help you prove that a pharmacist did not exercise this care, and you were injured as a result. This is taken extremely seriously by the courts, with some cases being considered as criminal charges. If any of the errors listed above contributed to your injury, you likely have a strong claim for compensation.

We highly recommend contacting us to help with your case. Victims that are unrepresented rarely see compensation for their injuries. These cases can be difficult, but the good news is our clients tend to see compensation within just a few months. Medical malpractice claims can be complex to litigate in Massachusetts, and the best thing you can do is contact a medical malpractice attorney right away. At Altman & Altman LLP, we have highly experienced medical malpractice lawyers that are prepared to handle your case. Medical malpractice clients pay no fees unless we recover money on their behalf.

At Altman & Altman, we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week – including nights and weekends. To schedule a Free Initial Consultation with one of our dedicated Greater Boston Medical Malpractice Attorneys, call us at 617.492.3000 or Contact Us Online.