I am often asked, what is a prescription error? It is an error that either a doctor, nurse or pharmacy or hospital has made with respect to giving a patient a medication. This type of error is a type of Medical Malpractice Claim and unfortunately has become way too common in this day and age. 

Prescription errors are much more common than you think.  According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 70% of Americans take one prescription drug and 50% take two prescription drugs. Whether you go to a national chain pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Kroger, Target, Walmart, etc.) or your local independently-owned pharmacy in your town, you probably have a good amount of faith in their staff of trained professionals who fill these prescriptions. They most likely never made any prior prescription errors regarding your prescriptions so you may not pay much attention to what’s inside the prescription bottle – regardless of whether you just filled a new prescription for a short-term ailment or have been taking the same medication for years. Most people read the prescription label to ensure that it’s correct. However, they probably don’t examine all the pills inside the bottle to check their color, size, shape, etc.

We trust our physicians and other healthcare providers to accurately prescribe the correct medications to treat our medical conditions and/or help alleviate our symptoms. In addition, we trust our pharmacists to fill prescriptions accurately. A prescription error occurs when an incorrect medication is prescribed or when correctly prescribed but not given timely. Or proper medication prescriptions are written but not filled incorrectly. These errors may result in injury or death.

It is imperative that we all informed of the side effects and risks of taking a particular medication. We may be given the written information when our prescriptions are dispensed. However, that information is often technical and confusing. Providing this written information does not excuse healthcare providers to advise patients and explain the risks and possible side effects of medications. Nor does it remove a healthcare provider’s, pharmacist’s, or pharmacy’s responsibility to ensure that medications taken by a patient not interact with one another medication also being taken by that patient preventing a possible prescription error.

SPEAK WITH AN EXPERIENCED NEW JERSEY PRESCRIPTION/MEDICATION ERROR ATTORNEY TODAY

If your doctor or pharmacist was negligent in prescribing, administering or filling a prescription and you suffered an injury, New Jersey personal injury laws allow you to pursue compensation for your injuries and associated losses. Call the New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys at the office of O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble. You can simply Contact us online or call 1-908-251-9368 or 1-800-586-5817 for a free no obligation consultation.

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