Numerous medications are available to help manage a wide range of conditions. However, it is easy for healthcare providers and manufacturers to make an error that leads to injuries.
Our lawyers can help you file a claim against the party that caused the medication error that injured you. Your healthcare provider might have caused the error by prescribing the wrong medication or dosage. If so, you typically only have three years to start your case. We can guide you through the prelitigation medical malpractice claims process, filing your notice against the defendant and gathering evidence to prove your case. If the medication error occurred during its production, we can file a product liability lawsuit against the medication’s producer.
Contact Rice Law today at (803) 219-4906 for a free case review from our medication error lawyers.
When You Must File a Medication Error Claim by in Charleston
How long you have to pursue compensation for medication error injuries largely depends on who is responsible for the mistake and what stage of treatment it occurred. Each type of claim’s deadlines and procedures are very different, which is why you should start your case as soon as possible.
Most errors occur when healthcare providers prescribe and administer medications, such as prescribing the wrong dosage or administering the incorrect drug to the patient. Our medication error lawyers will file a medical malpractice claim when healthcare professionals are at fault.
Errors can also happen during a medication’s manufacturing process. Pharmaceutical companies are usually responsible for these mistakes, in which case, we would file a product liability claim against them.
Time Limits for Medical Malpractice Claims
According to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-545(A), malpractice claims against healthcare providers must typically be filed within three years from the day they caused or failed to identify the medication error.
If a victim was unaware of the error when it occurred, they usually have three years from the date they discover or reasonably should have discovered it.
However, most victims will be barred from filing a claim if six years or more have passed since the healthcare provider caused the error, unless they are a child or have a legal disability.
Under § 15-3-545(D), the limitations period will be tolled for seven years for child victims or until their 18th birthday. After turning 18, they must file their claim within one year.
Medication error victims with a legal disability must file their claims one year from the date the disability ceases, but no claim can be filed after five years under § 15-3-40(2).
Time Limits for Product Liability Claims
Product liability claims are subject to the standard statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits, which is three years from the date you were injured under § 15-3-530(5).
Understanding the Medical Malpractice Claims Process for Medication Error Cases in Charleston
Suing a healthcare professional for medical malpractice is not like other lawsuits. The following steps must be completed before filing an actual lawsuit.
The Notice of Intent to File Suit
The first step is to file a “Notice of Intent to File Suit” with the South Carolina Circuit Court in Charleston.
Your notice must name all adverse parties who might be liable, a plain and short statement regarding how you were injured and why you are entitled to compensation, and be signed by you or your lawyer.
Once you serve the notice to all the named defendants, your claim will officially begin. Still, this is not the same as filing your lawsuit, which will come later.
The Discovery Phase
After the notice is filed and served, the parties can conduct “discovery.” During this phase, we can subpoena medical of records and file pretrial motions, like those to add defendants or request the court order evidence turned over that the defendant has withheld.
We can also take depositions from the defendants and witnesses. Depositions are sessions where each side’s attorney question the parties to the case while under oath. Deposition questions mirror the ones that would be asked in a trial, with the goal of establishing liability and building your credibility as a witness.
All the parties should have the evidence that they will rely on in a trial once discovery ends and what we need to negotiate a settlement.
Mandatory Prelitigation Mediation
The final step before filing a lawsuit is to participate in a mandatory prelitigation mediation conference. Under § 15-79-125(C), mediation conferences will be scheduled within 90 to 120 days from the date that the Notice of Intent to File Suit was served.
A mediator provided by the court will referee the session to help both sides come to an agreement that will avoid a lawsuit. Mediations are confidential, so the facts and results will not be made public.
Most importantly, the mediator’s final decision is non-binding, so you are not obligated to accept it.
We might consider another form of alternative dispute resolution, like arbitration or and early neutral evaluation, but you are not required to participate in anything beyond the mediation.
Filing a Medication Error Lawsuit After Mediation in Charleston
If the mediator determines that mediation will not resolve the case or the conference ends, you have 60 days or the expiration of the statute of limitations to file a lawsuit, whichever is later, under § 15-79-125(E).
To initiate your lawsuit, our team will file a summons and complaint. The complaint will reiterate the information in your notice. It will identify the liable parties, the medication error that injured you, how you were injured, and the compensation necessary to make you whole.
At this point, we will have most, if not all, of the evidence for your case and will submit it with your complaint. Medical records, bills, and expert witness statement will show the economic damages you sustained and support your claim for non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Contact Our Charleston Medication Error Attorneys Today for Help
For a free case assessment from our medication error attorneys, call Rice Law at (803) 219-4906.