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Omaha Pharmacy Error Lawyer

If a Pharmacy Error Injured You, We Know How to Help

When we step into a pharmacy to get a prescription filled, we’re not exactly feeling our best. We hand over our prescription, wait for our medication, and keep our fingers crossed that whatever illness we have goes away soon. We trust our pharmacists, and we follow the directions given to us.

But pharmacists are only human, and unfortunately, they are capable of causing great harm with a small mistake. If a pharmacy error caused your injury, or your illness to worsen, you may be able to file a personal injury claim for compensation. Call an Omaha pharmacy injury lawyer at Bottlinger Law L.L.C. at (402) 505-8234 for a free consultation about your situation.

Pharmacist Malpractice

A pharmacist is in charge of filling your prescription. But what if your doctor’s handwriting is illegible, and the pharmacist gives you the wrong medication or the wrong dosage? Well, it is still the pharmacist’s job to ensure that they are giving you the right drug in the right quantity. Sometimes, the doctor’s prescription is perfectly legible, or it is correctly conveyed electronically, and the pharmacy still dispenses the wrong drug, or the right drug in the wrong dosage. A good pharmacist will know when a dosage of a certain drug seems off or harmful. It is their job to ensure that there has been no error.

A pharmacist, just like a doctor, has a duty of care to patients. If the pharmacist violates that duty, they can be held liable in court to make compensation to the patient.

Here are the most common examples of pharmacist malpractice:

  • Providing the wrong drug. Many times, we might be given a generic substitute for a brand-name drug, which is not in itself necessarily negligent, but a pharmacist dispensing the wrong drug is absolutely harmful.
  • Providing the wrong dosage. Even if the pharmacy dispenses the correct medication, it can still make mistakes regarding the dosage, sometimes giving the patient a dosage that is many times stronger than prescribed. This has led to horrible results for the patient, and even death.
  • Giving no verbal warnings. Pharmacists are supposed to warn you against any known dangers that come with the drug you’re taking. If they don’t and you suffer serious side effects, they may be liable.
  • Mislabeling. If you receive the wrong drug or the wrong dosage because your pharmacist made a mistake in spelling your name, describing the medication dispensed to you, or giving you the wrong instructions for taking the drug, you could be seriously injured. Drug mix-ups aren’t that uncommon, but they are never acceptable.

A pharmacy technician may have put together your order, but it falls on the pharmacist to ensure everything is correct before letting you leave with the medication.

How to Avoid Pharmacy Errors

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from pharmacy errors.

  • Always double-check that your bottle reflects the medication and the dosage your doctor told you to take.
  • If you’re taking medication you’ve taken before, but it’s not treating your symptoms or you’re experiencing different sensations than usual, double-check the medication and check in with your doctor.
  • If your medication looks different than usual, tastes different, or produces different side effects, check in with your doctor right away.
  • Make sure the dosage on the bottle is the same as what your doctor told you.
  • Always check that the name on the label is your exact name. A lot of errors can be attributed to pharmacists giving medication to people with similar names or birthdays.
  • Make sure you mention any other drugs you are taking, whether over-the-counter or prescribed by other doctors. Sometimes two different drugs can interact badly, but your pharmacist must be informed about your current medication.

Contact an Experienced Omaha Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Pharmacy errors happen more frequently than we’d like to believe. They can result in serious injuries, unintended side effects, organ damage, or worse. Our firm has dealt with pharmacy errors from pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, grocery stores, hospitals, and nursing homes.

We understand pharmacy errors aren’t malicious, but if a pharmacist negligently fills a prescription, the pharmacy should be held liable for any injuries you suffer to ensure that it never happens again. Pharmacy errors aren’t as simple as post office errors; they can cause permanent injuries or even death, especially to children.

If you or someone you love have been injured by a negligent pharmacist, please speak with an Omaha medical malpractice attorney at Bottlinger Law L.L.C. as soon as possible. Call us at (402) 505-8234 to discuss your case in a no-cost consultation.

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