Birmingham Medication Error Lawyer

Advances in medical science have given us countless powerful prescription medications. Unfortunately, the power to heal has equal power to injure or do worse harm when there are errors in how a medication is prescribed or administered.

The medical community refers to a medication error that causes a patient harm as an “adverse drug event,” or ADE. These serious errors can lead to severe injuries, illnesses, and even death. If you believe you or a loved one has been seriously injured by a preventable medication error, you need to speak with our dedicated Birmingham medical malpractice attorneys today.

At the Serious Injury Law Group, our attorneys have extensive experience successfully handling complicated and challenging medication error lawsuits in Alabama. Schedule a free consultation with one of our skilled Alabama medication error attorneys now by calling 1-855-SERIOUS or filling out our online form. Our law firm does not charge any fees upfront to investigate a potential medical malpractice claim, and our attorneys only get paid if and when we recover money for you.

How Our Medication Error Lawyers Can Help You

Not all adverse reactions to medication, nor every medical error, rises to the level of medical malpractice in Alabama. However, anyone who has been unduly harmed while under medical care deserves answers. And when negligence or recklessness on the part of medical practitioners, managers, or corporate owners is found, the injured person should be fully compensated.

You can count on our diligent Alabama medication error lawyers to take your case as seriously as you do. Some of the steps we will take include:

• Our team will examine your medical records as well the medical institution’s recorded policies, practices, and procedures. We will also look at pharmacy logs and inventory records. This will help us determine whether a medication error warrants a medical malpractice claim.
• We will seek the opinions of independent medical experts, including hospital administrators and other medical and pharmacological system professionals, who understand proper protocols for prescribing, dispensing, and administering medication.
• We will work to determine who should be held responsible for the harm you have suffered. It may be that a hospital, clinic, pharmacy, or another institution, through its owners and administrators, should compensate you for the injury a medication error caused you.
• Our team will thoroughly document the costs and losses you have suffered as a result of the medication error, taking into account how your life will be affected in the future.
• Once we see justification for a claim and file a medical malpractice lawsuit, we can interview (“depose”) all medical professionals, paraprofessionals, and technicians involved in your care and in the process for ordering and administering medication.
• Although we will negotiate aggressively in settlement talks, our respected litigators will not back down from a fight in court if that’s what is necessary.

At the Serious Injury Law Group, our Alabama medical malpractice attorneys will fight to protect your rights to full and fair compensation. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about your case, and let us discuss how we can help you.

How Do Harmful Medication Errors Occur?

The term “medication error” refers to a mistake (by commission or omission) at any step in the process that begins when a clinician prescribes a medication and ends when a medical professional or technician administers the medication, or the patient takes the medication.

These errors may occur during:

• Ordering: Most errors likely occur at the prescribing and transcribing stages, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports. When prescribing and ordering medications, the clinician must select the appropriate medication and determine the dose and the frequency at which it is to be administered. Then, in paper-based systems, a clerk, pharmacist, or pharmacy technician must read and interpret (transcribe) the prescription correctly.
• Dispensing: In what is known as a drug utilization review, or DUR, the pharmacist should check for drug-disease contraindications, interactions with other prescribed medications (drug-drug interactions), and any drug allergies the patient is known to have. The pharmacist should also ensure proper dosage and duration for use of the medication. The pharmacist then must package and release the appropriate quantity of the medication in the correct form.
• Administration: The medication must be supplied to the correct patient at the correct time and in the correct dosage. In a hospital, this is generally a nurse’s responsibility, but in ambulatory care, it is the responsibility of the patient or a caregiver.

Medication errors can cause overdose, underdose (too little medication to be effective), adverse reaction to drug combinations, and/or allergic reaction to the medication. Additionally, a medication error can result in the patient not receiving appropriate medical treatment for his or her existing illness or injury.

Common Causes of Prescription Drug Errors

Past medical malpractice cases in Alabama and national studies show that medication errors are typically caused by some type of communication error, particularly when prescribing and ordering medications. Common communication problems and other causes of prescription errors include:

• Misread or unclear directions for ordering, dispensing, or use of medications, including illegible written instructions and/or unclear medical abbreviations
• Confusion of similar drug names (particularly in oral communication)
• Similarities in labeling, packaging, and product names
• Poor institutional policies, procedures, or techniques (or allowed circumvention of policies, procedures, or techniques)
• Personnel who lack training or knowledge of the medications they handle
• Personnel who are overworked, rushed, or otherwise experiencing job or situational stress
• Patient misuse because of poor understanding of directions for use of the medication

At the Serious Injury Law Group, our Alabama medication error lawyers have extensive experience successfully litigating these difficult cases. We also have strong connections with medical experts who can provide the kind of independent analysis that strengthens a medical malpractice claim. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Contact Our Alabama Medication Error Lawyers Today

If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one due to a prescription error in Alabama, you may be able to obtain compensation for your losses. Our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can help you pursue a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death claim.

With law offices in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, and Lowndes County, our law firm is positioned to help medical malpractice victims across the state. We can meet with you wherever and whenever is most convenient.

Contact us online or call 1-855-SERIOUS to set up your free legal consultation today.