St. Louis Medication Error Lawyer

Do you believe you have a medical malpractice claim against a local physician, hospital or pharmacy for a harmful medication error? Contact Goldblatt + Singer for a free consultation. We’ll meet with you in person at our St. Louis office or discuss your claim over the phone at no charge or obligation. We understand the nuances of Missouri’s medical malpractice laws and want to help your family seek damage recovery any way we can. Call (314)888-1000 today for your free lawyer meeting.

What Are Medication Errors?

Medication errors describe anything that is a mistake in the prescription, dispensing and administration of a patient’s medications. Medication errors can occur anywhere along the chain of events from a doctor prescribing a drug to the patient receiving the drug. These mistakes are almost always preventable and can cause serious harm to the unsuspecting patient or consumer. The following are a few examples of medication errors that could result in medical malpractice lawsuits:

• Manufacturing defect. If the drug was bad right from the factory, injuries could be the liability of the medication manufacturer. Design errors, manufacturing mistakes or marketing problems (such as failing to warn consumers of possible side effects) could make a drug dangerously defective.
• Prescription errors. If a prescribing physician gets the diagnosis, medication or dosage wrong, it could lead to serious patient harm. It is up to the physician to examine the patient’s medical and medication histories to make sure the prescribed medication is safe and correct. Otherwise, harmful overdoses or drug interactions could occur.
• Pharmacy mistakes. Some medication errors take place in a pharmacy setting, when pharmacists misread a prescription, mix up two different medications, fill the prescription incorrectly or give the medicine to the wrong patient. It is possible to bring a lawsuit against a St. Louis pharmacy for medication errors.
• Administration errors. Another phase in which a medical professional might make a deadly medication mistake is during administration. If a nurse in charge of administering medications to patients or nursing home residents makes a mistake, such as missing a dosage or dosing twice too close together, the patient might not survive the error.

Medication errors may be the legal fault of a physician, nurse, pharmacy, hospital or medication manufacturer. Determining the source of the mistake and what party/parties may be at fault often requires assistance from a team of medical malpractice attorneys. Goldblatt + Singer can start analyzing your case as soon as your first phone call, taking steps toward discovering exactly how you or a loved one’s injuries occurred. We can take care of your claim from start to finish.

Do You Have a Medical Malpractice Claim?

Not all poor patient outcomes result from medical malpractice. In some cases, the physician or facility did everything it reasonably could have to prevent the harm from occurring. Something is medical malpractice if a “reasonable and prudent” person or company would have done something differently in similar circumstances. For example, if a reasonable nurse would have read the patient’s chart correctly and administered the right dosage, a nurse who overdosed a patient may be guilty of medical malpractice.

To recover compensation for a medication error, an injured party must prove that a breach of duty occurred. A breach can describe any action or inaction that fails to fulfill the accepted standards of care for the industry and situation. Proving a breach, or proving negligence, can be difficult in medical malpractice claims and require testimony from an industry expert. Hiring a lawyer can make this burden of proof significantly easier on you and your family. To find out if you have a medication error claim in St. Louis, contact us today. Our lawyers are always available to discuss your case for free during a confidential evaluation.