Medication Errors Lawyer in Massachusetts

Medication Errors and Medical Malpractice

Medication errors occur at every stage of the prescribing and administration process: a physician who prescribes the wrong drug or the wrong dose, a pharmacist who dispenses the wrong medication or fails to catch a dangerous drug interaction, a nurse who administers medication to the wrong patient or by the wrong route, and electronic health record systems that generate or transmit incorrect prescription data. The consequences range from mild to fatal depending on the medication involved and the nature of the error. Attorney Jeffrey C. Lavey represents medication error victims throughout Massachusetts.

Types of Medication Errors

• Wrong drug: prescribing or dispensing a medication that was not intended for the patient
• Wrong dose: prescribing, dispensing, or administering an amount too high or too low
• Wrong patient: administering a medication to a patient for whom it was not ordered
• Wrong route: administering a medication by the wrong delivery method
• Drug interaction errors: prescribing a combination of medications known to interact dangerously
• Contraindication errors: prescribing a drug to a patient with a known contraindication
• Omission errors: failing to administer a medication that was ordered

Who Is Responsible for Medication Errors

Medication error liability depends on where in the process the error occurred. A prescribing physician who writes the wrong order is primarily liable. A pharmacist who dispenses without catching an obvious error in the prescription may share liability. A nurse who administers without verifying the “five rights” of medication administration, right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, may be directly negligent. The hospital as an institution may bear liability for systems failures including inadequate verification protocols and inadequate training. Attorney Lavey identifies every responsible party in every medication error case.

Drug Interaction Errors

One of the most preventable categories of medication error is the failure to identify dangerous drug interactions. Prescribing physicians, pharmacists, and hospital medication reconciliation processes all have responsibilities for identifying combinations of drugs that create dangerous interactions. An anticoagulant prescribed alongside a drug that dramatically increases bleeding risk, without appropriate monitoring or dosage adjustment, is a medication interaction error. Electronic prescription systems flag known interactions, but those flags may be overridden or ignored. Attorney Lavey investigates interaction errors with pharmaceutical and clinical expert support.

Compensation for Medication Error Victims

Medication error compensation covers all medical treatment required to address the harm caused by the error, all lost wages during treatment and recovery, pain and suffering from the injury caused or worsened by the error, and future medical costs for lasting consequences. Attorney Lavey pursues every element of compensation in every medication error malpractice case.

Frequently Asked Questions