Prescription Errors in Child's Medication | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

When many people think of medical malpractice lawsuits for medication errors, they usually imagine the negligence was caused by doctors or other medical staff, taking place at a medical facility. The truth is, however, prescription errors can also happen because of errors on the part of a retail pharmacy.

This is the case in a recent lawsuit filed in Louisiana. A mother has accused two different Walgreen’s of incorrectly filling her minor child’s medication. According to the details of the lawsuit, in September 2016, the plaintiff was at the first location picking up medication prescribed for her daughter for seizures. The mother says she was given the wrong medication. Her daughter ended up hospitalized and treated for an overdose of the wrong medication.

In May 2017, the mother picked up a refill of her daughter’s medication at a different Walgreen’s. When she returned home, she noticed that there were two types of pills in the bottle of mediation. The lawsuit accuses Walgreens of negligence for failing to take proper care, failing to warn of danger and negligence of the employees who filled the medications incorrectly.

Is This a Common Problem?

According to a spokesperson from the University Of Connecticut School Of Pharmacy, the most common type of prescription error is a prescription label which has incorrect directions on it. There are cases, like this one, where the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage is listed.

There are also certain drugs that this happens with more frequently because of their like-sounding names. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) keeps a list of these drugs that are connected with medication errors.

Another type of common error is when a patient is taking more than one medication and the pharmacy misses the possible drug interactions. This is also a dangerous error which should be caught by the doctor before even prescribing.

If You Discover a Prescription Error

If you discover you have been the victim of a prescription error, make sure to keep the medication. Do not give it back to the pharmacy since this medication may be needed as evidence should there be a lawsuit filed. You will also want to report the error to both the North Carolina medical board, as well as the National Mediation Error Reporting Program.

You should also contact a North Carolina medical malpractice attorney if you have suffered injuries as a result of the medication error to find out what legal options you may have against the pharmacy which made the prescription error.

The legal team at Shapiro & Appleton have been advocating for victims of malpractice and other injuries for more than 30 years and will work diligently to get you the financial compensation you deserve for the injuries you have suffered.