Michigan Wrong Medication Lawyer

For millions of people, medication is a daily part of their lives. People depend on medication to help them feel better, not make their situation worse. But for medication to be helpful, it’s essential that it be administered correctly. When doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals make mistakes with medications, patients can be seriously harmed.

Whether you’re picking up a prescription at the local pharmacy or being given medication in a hospital or clinical setting, it’s very easy for people to make mistakes when it comes to your medication. A distracted pharmacist might accidentally give a patient a medication with a name very similar to the one prescribed. A nurse working an understaffed shift might forget to give a patient their medicine at the right time. A doctor writing down an incorrect dosage on the prescription can result in a patient getting too much or not enough of their medication.

In some cases, medication errors may also be the result of packaging errors made by the drug manufacturer. A pill that looks very similar to another might accidentally get placed in the wrong packaging. Or if incorrect information is printed on a label, it can cause many different problems.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a medication error, it’s very important to get the help of a prescription error lawyer as soon as possible. Healthcare facilities have insurance companies and attorneys to protect them. You need someone on your side who understands Michigan’s medical malpractice laws and can fight for what’s best for you. Contact Scott Goodwin Law P.C. today for help with your case.

Medication Error Statistics

According to the World Health Organization, about 1.3 million people in the United States are injured by medication errors every year. In some cases, medication errors have the potential to be fatal.

Types of Medication Errors

• A patient is given an incorrect medication

• Incorrect dosages

• Prescribing a medication a patient is allergic to

• Prescribing a drug that interacts with other drugs a patient is taking

• Doctors/nurses not giving patients medication at the correct times

• Drugs being administered improperly

• Medications being prepared incorrectly, such as if a drug is cross-contaminated with another in the pharmacy

• Medication being improperly packaged by the manufacturer

Common Causes of Medication Errors

• Doctor/nurse/pharmacist distraction

• Poor communication

• Poor staffing levels

• Inadequate training

• Incorrectly reading a prescription

• Inaccurate patient records

• Mistakes while writing a prescription

• Unclear handwriting on prescriptions

Drugs Commonly Involved in Medication Errors

• Insulin

• Albuterol

• Morphine

• Potassium chloride

• Heparin

• Cefazolin

• Furosemide

• Levofloxacin

• Vancomycin

(Source: The Mayo Clinic)