Who Can Be Held Liable for Medication Mistakes in North Carolina?

Medicines prescribed to improve our health can end up destroying our health instead. Mistakes involving medications sometimes resolve on their own, but in other cases, the harm may be irreversible.

When a drug causes harm instead of healing, who is at fault legally? In our decades of experience helping victims of medical malpractice, we’ve seen many different causes of medication errors, and there isn’t a simple answer. If you or someone you love has been injured by a medication mistake, we can review the circumstances and investigate who may be at fault.

Investigation Is Key

Mistakes with medication can happen at any point in the process from the time the medication is developed, manufactured, packaged, shipped, prescribed, distributed, or finally taken by the patient. Many different companies are involved in the process, and within those companies, numerous individuals interact with the medication. That means that an investigation into the cause of a medication error can be quite extensive. Many attorneys may not be equipped to undertake the in-depth research needed to determine the cause of the error and uncover proof of the party responsible. It is important to develop a string of solid evidence linking the mistake to the specific harm suffered by the patient. The medical companies involved may blame the injuries or harm on some other cause, so it is important to be prepared with proof.

Sometimes the Pharmacy is at Fault for a Medication Error

When a medication damages a patient instead of improving their condition, the pharmacy is often the first place suspected of making a mistake. Patients have suffered serious harm after an employee at the pharmacy made errors such as:

• Filling a prescription bottle with the wrong medication
• Giving a patient medication of the wrong strength
• Including the wrong instructions on the bottle or with the package
• Neglecting to include information about drug interactions and side effects
• Providing medication that was past the expiration date
• Storing the medication incorrectly so that it became contaminated or lost its effectiveness

When a technician or pharmacist makes a mistake, the company that employs them can be held vicariously liable in many cases, even if the employee acts in violation of company policies. In some cases, the company can be held responsible because it failed to train or supervise employees properly.

Other Times a Physician, Nurse, or Other Healthcare Provider Could Be the One at Fault

Our healthcare system rewards providers for seeing as many patients as possible, so the staff at many doctors’ offices and hospitals are frequently moving quickly from one patient to the next. This can make it more likely that someone will make a mistake and less likely that someone else will have the opportunity to notice the error and act to correct it.

Your doctor might prescribe the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage. What you receive could damage your system, or it could harm you by allowing your medical condition to worsen. You might be given medicine that negatively interacts with other medicines you take because the doctor forgot to check interactions or ignored recommendations.

Someone in the hospital or doctor’s office could enter the prescription into the system incorrectly, particularly if the prescription was handwritten or transcribed from spoken instructions.

A nurse or other staff member might mistakenly give you medicines that were designated for another patient. Or they might give you medication more frequently than is good for you or not often enough to address your condition adequately. Medication errors frequently result in an overdose that could be cumulative or show disastrous effects all at once.

In Some Instances, the Manufacturer is Responsible for a Medication Error

The pharmaceutical industry is huge, and supply chains stretch around the world. This allows numerous opportunities for medications to become contaminated, diluted, damaged, or mislabeled. The components that make up a medication might be of too low quality or concentration to be effective. Medications may include added toxins or other impurities during the manufacturing or packaging process. Because numerous companies may be involved in sourcing materials and preparing medications, they may be quick to attempt to shift the blame to others.

Sometimes, the problems with a medication go all the way back to the process of developing and testing the drug. A company may have hidden unfavorable test results or failed to conduct adequate testing. They might not report side effects and drug interactions correctly. Under pressure to recover the amounts invested in drug research and development, a pharmaceutical company could rush a product to market that is either ineffective or has extremely dangerous collateral effects. The company may encourage doctors to prescribe the new medicine in place of other options that are safer or more effective. When they put profits ahead of people, these companies need to be held accountable for the harm they cause as a result.

Martin & Jones Fights for Patients Injured by Medication Mistakes

When a mistake with medication causes serious injuries or leads to wrongful death, the experienced team at Martin & Jones is prepared to investigate to uncover evidence to establish liability and recover compensation to provide justice and offset the losses to the patient and their family. But investigation takes time, so we urge you to schedule a consultation with our team sooner rather than later so that we have adequate opportunities to gather the evidence we need to pursue justice.

To schedule your free consultation and case evaluation after a medication error, call us at 800-662-1234 or contact us online today.