Medication Mistake Lawyers | Kanner & Pintaluga

Common Types of Medication Mistakes

Over the years, we have seen patterns of negligence repeat across all types of healthcare facilities nationwide. This includes:

Prescribing Errors

A physician or nurse practitioner may prescribe a medication that is inappropriate for a patient’s condition or contradicts their medical history. How does something like this happen? There can be any number of reasons, such as:

• Illegible handwriting: While electronic prescribing is becoming standard, handwritten scripts still exist. If a pharmacist misreads a doctor’s sloppy handwriting and dispenses the wrong drug, both parties may share liability.
• Failure to check history: Doctors must review a patient’s medical history for allergies. Prescribing an antibiotic to a patient with a known penicillin allergy is a textbook example of negligence that requires an experienced wrong medication attorney.
• Dangerous drug interactions: Physicians must ensure that a new prescription does not react negatively with drugs the patient is already taking. Failure to identify these risks is known as prescription interaction negligence. These interactions can render drugs ineffective or cause toxic reactions.

Pharmacy and Dispensing Errors

Pharmacists are the last line of defense, but they are often overworked and understaffed in high-volume retail chains. This can lead to:

• The “sound-alike, look-alike” problem: Many drugs have similar names or look identical in pill form. If a pharmacist grabs the wrong stock bottle, you could end up taking a medication meant for a completely different disease — the basis for a pharmacy misfill lawsuit.
• Incorrect dosage: A decimal point makes a massive difference in medicine. If a prescription for 1.0 mg is filled as 10 mg, the patient faces an immediate risk of toxicity.
• Labeling errors: Sometimes the drug is correct, but the instructions are wrong. If the label says “take three times daily” instead of “once daily,” the patient will unknowingly overdose. A medication labeling mistake is a serious breach of the pharmacist’s duty of care.

Administration Errors

In hospitals and nursing homes, patients rely on staff to provide the right medication at the right time. When errors occur, the facility often treats them as “unfortunate incidents.” However, negligence is frequently the actual cause.

The Consequences of Medication Negligence

As a medication negligence law firm, we have seen firsthand how a simple mix-up can lead to catastrophic outcomes, including:

• Worsened medical condition
• Severe allergic reactions
• Organ damage
• Permanent disability

Victims of medication errors are often forced to undergo surgeries, long-term rehab, and other detailed medical procedures to fix a problem that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

You may find yourself out of work for months, losing wages while medical bills pile up. We strive to ensure that all negligent parties bear the financial burden of these mistakes — not you or your family.

Who Can Be Held Liable?

One of the most complex aspects of a prescription error lawsuit is determining exactly who is at fault. The path a drug takes from a manufacturer to your bloodstream involves multiple professionals and checkpoints.

When a mistake happens, there may be more than one liable party. A skilled medication malpractice attorney will investigate every link in the chain of command:

• The prescribing physician or nurse: If the error originated with the script itself — such as prescribing a contraindicated drug or an incorrect dosage — the doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant can be held liable.
• The pharmacist or pharmacy: Pharmacists have an independent duty to ensure patient safety. The pharmacy chain itself can also be held responsible for employee negligence.
• The hospital or healthcare facility: If a hospital or other facility is understaffed, has poor protocols for drug administration, or fails to maintain accurate electronic health records, the institution itself can be sued.
• Pharmaceutical manufacturers: If a medication was manufactured with impurities or if the manufacturer failed to warn doctors about dangerous side effects, a product liability claim may be necessary.

How We Prove Medication Error Cases

Proving medication mistakes happened in a court of law requires a legal team with an understanding of both medical science and the law.

As a medication negligence law firm, we build your case through extensive evidence, including:

• Pharmacy records: These often reveal medication labeling mistakes or dispensing logs that contradict the physician’s original order.
• Electronic health records (EHR): These digital footprints can show if a doctor failed to review your allergy list before prescribing.
• Expert witness testimony: We work with respected medical professionals who can testify to exactly how the pharmacy dispensing standard was violated and how the error led to your specific injuries.

Compensation for Victims

The goal of any prescription malpractice claim is to make the victim “whole” again, at least financially. While no amount of money can undo the physical trauma of a medication error, a successful settlement can provide the resources you need to recover and move forward.

Compensation in these cases is typically divided into two categories: economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages cover the quantifiable financial losses you have incurred. This includes medical bills, the projected cost of future medical care, lost wages, and other earnings you may lose out on due to medication mistakes.

Non-economic damages compensate you for intangible losses caused by negligence. These damages are often awarded for pain and suffering, or the impact the injury has had on your relationship with your spouse.

In cases of extreme negligence, we may also pursue punitive damages. These are designed not just to compensate you, but to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from making similar mistakes.

Why Choose Kanner & Pintaluga

Medical malpractice cases, particularly those involving medication errors, are among the most difficult to win. You are often up against massive pharmaceutical companies, hospital conglomerates, and their teams of defense attorneys who are paid to deny your claim. To level the playing field, you need a medication negligence law firm that refuses to back down.

Kanner & Pintaluga offers legal services to victims of medication mistakes in 18 states. We have the financial capability to hire top-tier medical experts, pharmacologists, and investigators to build an undeniable case on your behalf.

Unlike general practitioners, our prescription mistake attorney team understands the nuances of pharmacology law. We know the difference between a simple side effect and actionable negligence, and we know how to prove it in court.

More importantly, we believe that justice should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their finances. That’s why we operate on a contingency fee basis. You will never pay us a dime out of pocket. We only get paid if we win your case and recover compensation for you.

If you’re looking for any of the professionals listed below, we can help:

• Medication error lawyer
• Prescription mistake attorney
• Medication malpractice attorney
• Pharmacy mistake lawyer
• Drug error attorney
• Wrong medication attorney
• Pharmacy dispensing attorney

Contact Kanner & Pintaluga to learn more.

Contact Us for a Free Case Evaluation

If a pharmacy error or a doctor’s negligence has caused you harm, don’t wait to seek justice. Depending on the state, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice can be very strict. Any delay can impact your ability to receive the compensation you deserve.

Contact Kanner & Pintaluga today to speak with a compassionate drug error attorney who can evaluate your claim at no cost to you. Call us now or fill out our online form to get the medication error legal help you need to take back control of your life.