We need doctors to prescribe medication and pharmacists to dispense it. We rely on pharmaceutical manufacturers to ensure that medicines are safe. Unfortunately, errors can occur that make medication dangerous, and you may be entitled to fair financial compensation.
If you suffered an adverse medical reaction because of a medication error, you may claim damages for medical costs and lost income if you miss work because of your injuries. Occasionally, courts award punitive damages if the error was especially egregious. Proving a medication error can be difficult, as we might not initially know how or where the error occurred.
For a free initial case analysis, call (410) 694-7291 and talk to our medication error lawyers at Rice Law.
Damages You Can Claim in a Medication Error Case
Medication errors can cause patients to experience severe medical complications, leading to costly treatment. Some patients are so badly injured that they might never fully recover. Your life might be altered forever, and you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation.
Compensatory Damages
Courts award compensatory damages to help plaintiffs make up for what they have lost. These damages encompass various economic losses and non-economic injuries. Your attorney should help you review your expenses while also evaluating more subjective injuries, like pain and suffering.
Medication errors often lead to medical complications and costly treatment. Not only that, but new medical complications or injuries might persist for a long time, and you may claim future medical costs as part of your damages.
Medication errors can interfere with your ability to work. You might need to take time off from your job to recover from your injuries. In severe cases, injured plaintiffs might never return to full-time employment. Our medication error lawyers will help you calculate the income you have already lost and may continue to lose and add it to your damages.
Punitive Damages
Courts award punitive damages to penalize defendants for extremely bad actions, rather than to compensate plaintiffs for specific losses. Maryland does not have many specific punitive damages statutes. Instead, these damages are rooted in common law and case law.
In Maryland, proving punitive damages requires actual malice, according to the legal standard set in Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Zenobia. This is difficult to prove, making punitive damages unusual but possible.
Actual malice might not necessarily involve specific intent to cause harm. The court in Zenobia explained that in a product liability case, a negligent manufacturer may be found to have exhibited actual malice if it knew the product it was producing was dangerous or defective and allowed it to reach consumers anyway.
When to File a Medication Error Civil Case
Doctors and nurses who commit medication errors may be subject to medical malpractice claims. Under Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-109(a), you must file a medical malpractice case within 5 years of being injured or 3 years of realizing the injuries, whichever occurs earlier.
If the injured victim is under 11 years old, the limitation period does not begin until they reach 11. However, this does not apply in cases of medical injuries to the reproductive system. In such cases, the limitation period does not start until the plaintiff turns 16. This might come up in cases where a medication error caused sterilization.
Other claims, like those against pharmaceutical companies, might be considered personal injury claims. Under § 5-101, we must bring these claims within 3 years of your injuries.
Proof That You Were Injured by a Medication Error in Ellicott City
We need evidence that proves an error occurred and demonstrates that the error directly caused your injuries and damages.
Whenever you visit a doctor, they must document everything that happens, including medications that are prescribed. An error might be reflected in your records. Your doctor’s notes might describe the medication they prescribed, but your records might indicate a different medicine was administered by mistake. We can also compare these to pharmacy records to determine if the error occurred when the pharmacist filled the prescription.
We should gather information about the medication in question. Pharmaceutical companies must disclose information about the medications they produce. This includes details about ingredients and production. If we suspect the medicine is unsafe or contaminated, information from the manufacturer may be crucial.
People Responsible for Medication Errors
Prescription medication goes through doctors, nurses, and pharmacists before it reaches a patient. Knowing where and how the error happened may help us understand who should be held responsible.
Medical Professionals
A doctor might have incorrectly determined your dosage and provided you with medication that is far too powerful. They might have instead provided you with medication that is too weak to be effective, allowing your condition to become worse.
If you were administered medication in a hospital, a nurse likely retrieved the medication. If they misread the prescription or retrieve the wrong medication, you may be severely harmed. You may include either of these medical professionals in your case.
Pharmacists
If the error happened at the pharmacy where you picked up your prescription, the pharmacist and their employer might be responsible. Like the nurse in the hospital, pharmacists must carefully read prescriptions and notes from prescribing physicians to ensure they dispense the correct medication.
Even if a pharmacist fills the right prescription, they might mix it up with someone else’s. Simply grabbing the wrong medicine from the shelf might be all it takes to create a disastrous error.
Pharmaceutical Companies
Injured patients might have legal claims against pharmaceutical companies. Certain medications may be far more potent than necessary, and pharmaceutical companies may downplay this issue, misleading the public about the medication’s safety.
Alternatively, medication might be contaminated during production, putting countless patients at risk.
Speak to Our Ellicott City Medication Error Lawyers About Your Case Now
For a free initial case analysis, call (410) 694-7291 and talk to our medication error lawyers at Rice Law.