Both prescription and over-the-counter medications can dramatically affect a patient’s health and overall outcome. From alleviating pain to treating potentially fatal diseases, receiving the correct medication is critical to patient care. Unfortunately, medication errors are among the leading causes of adverse outcomes and are one of the most common forms of medical malpractice.

If you have suffered harm due to a medical professional’s mistake, a Charlottesville medication error lawyer at the law office of MichieHamlett can help. Contact our seasoned medical malpractice attorneys today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about your legal options.

Common Types of Medication Errors

The following are some of the common types of medication errors:

  • Medication administration errors (administering too much of a medication, too little of a medication, administering the medication at the wrong site, etc.);
  • Wrong-patient errors;
  • Wrong-medication errors;
  • Prescription and dosage errors;
  • Medication reaction errors (giving a patient a medication that they should not be taken in combination with another medication that the patient is currently on);
  • Instruction errors; and
  • More.

These errors are often the result of miscommunications between doctors and others in the hospital, such as nurses; patient chart mix-ups; failing to properly read a patient’s chart or investigate their medical background; confusing two like-sounding medication names, bad handwriting on a patient’s chart, and more.

Who’s Liable for a Medication Error?

When a patient is the victim of a medication error and suffers an adverse health outcome as a result, they deserve to be compensated. This requires investigating the case to determine what happened and who’s to blame. Potentially liable parties might include:

  • The doctor who prescribed the medication in error
  • The nurse who administered the medication
  • The hospital where the medication was given
  • The pharmacist who filled the prescription
  • The manufacturer of the medication, if the medication was defective

Our lawyers can investigate your case to determine against whom you should file a claim and how you can prove that malpractice has occurred.

Act Quickly to Recover Damages

If you bring forth a claim for medication errors and can prove that malpractice occurred, you can seek damages for your economic losses (i.e., medical bills and lost wages) and your non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering). However, you must do so within the statute of limitations – the legal limit on the amount of time you have to file a claim. The statute of limitations in most Virginia medical malpractice cases is two years from the date of the malpractice. Act quickly to preserve your right to damages.

Call Our Charlottesville Medication Errors Attorneys Today

If you have been the victim of a medication error, you deserve compensation for your losses. A Charlottesville medication error lawyer at the law office of MichieHamlett is here to help when you have suffered harm due to medical negligence. To learn more about your rights, how to begin a claim, and how our legal team can support you, contact us today by phone or send us a message online to request your free consultation.