Medication Errors: Simple Mistakes Cause Serious Consequences
Health Care Negligence Lawyers Advocating for Baltimore Patients
Unfortunately, medication errors affect every area of the healthcare industry. These mistakes can lead to serious and long-term consequences, or even death, for a patient. You may be entitled to compensation for your harm if you have been injured due to a medication error. At the Law Offices of Cardaro & Peek, our Baltimore medication error lawyers can analyze the facts of your case and determine whether you may have a viable medical malpractice claim. With many years of experience, we understand how to navigate these complex cases.
Taking Legal Action After a Medication Error
Medication errors denote failure at any point in the medication use procedure. In other words, a medication mistake can occur in prescribing, dispensing, or administering a drug. Whether the error takes place at a hospital, emergency room, or nursing home, the results of medication errors can be devastating. According to the Institute of Medicine’s 2006 report, Preventing Medication Errors, medication mistakes harm up to 1.5 million Americans yearly. Medication errors can happen in a variety of ways, some of which are:
- Prescribing or administering the wrong medication
- Administering an amount of medication that leads to an overdose
- Mislabeling a medication
- Prescribing a medication to which the patient is allergic
- Prescribing or administering a medication that interacts negatively with other medications
- Failing to notify patients about serious side effects
- Filling the wrong drug at the pharmacy
A number of parties may be held liable by a medication error attorney in the Baltimore area. Quite simply, anyone involved in prescribing or administering drugs can be liable for medication errors. This includes doctors, nurses, hospitals, and pharmacists. Just as in other states, medical professionals in Maryland must use a certain level of care and caution when doing their job. Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injuries or death by failing to use the level of care that a reasonably prudent medical professional would have used in the same situation. For instance, if a nurse gives a patient too much of a certain medication that leads to an overdose, the nurse would likely be liable for malpractice. This is because a reasonably prudent nurse would be careful to administer the correct medication dosage, understanding the risk of harm associated with not doing so.
The burden of proof in Maryland medical malpractice cases is on the plaintiff or the victim of medical malpractice who files the case. To establish malpractice, a Baltimore medication error attorney is required to demonstrate certain elements by a preponderance of the evidence. These are that the medical professional had a duty to adhere to a certain level of care, the medical professional failed to adhere to the appropriate standard of care by making the medication error, and the medical professional’s failure was a direct and proximate cause of the patient’s injuries. The effect of a medication error can range from minor to fatal. These errors can be extremely costly to a patient. Fortunately, Maryland law allows medical malpractice victims to recover economic and non-economic damages. Generally, a plaintiff will be able to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and rehabilitation costs, as well as compensation for any other losses arising from the malpractice.
Contact a Skillful Medication Error Lawyer in Baltimore
If you or someone close to you has been harmed because of a preventable medication error, our medical malpractice attorneys can help. At the Law Offices of Cardaro & Peek, we understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll a medication error can take on a patient and their family. We proudly assist people in Baltimore, Pikesville, Catonsville, Towson, Woodlawn, Dundalk, Essex, Randallstown, Arbutus, Reisterstown, Laurel, Silver Springs, and other areas of Baltimore, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel Counties. For a free case evaluation, do not hesitate to call us at 800-810-6780 or contact us online. We also represent people who need a misdiagnosis lawyer or assistance in claims arising from other forms of malpractice.
