Medication Error Lawyer Cleveland OH
Medication Errors
A medication error can come in many different forms, such as pharmacy negligence, prescription error, overdose, nursing negligence, hospital negligence or prescription error. In addition, a patient can be injured by dangerous drugs when a doctor fails to order proper monitoring or testing when required to safely administer a particular type of medication. Under Ohio law, any lawsuit arising out of a medication error is considered to be a “medical claim,” subject to a one-year statute of limitations. When the medication error results in wrongful death, Ohio’s wrongful death statute imposes a two-year statute of limitations on the wrongful death claim. As with any medical claim, it is important to consult with an experienced medication error lawyer Cleveland, OH offers if you or a loved one were harmed as a result of drug administration.
Some medication errors occur as a result of a pharmacist’s error. Pharmacists in the State of Ohio must be licensed and meet certain educational requirements to establish competency. A negligent pharmacist may be employed by a large pharmacy chain, like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart or Rite Aid, or they may work for a hospital system. Either way, the pharmacist is required by industry standards to not only fill prescriptions correctly, but also to alert patients and care providers about dangerous drug interactions, side effects, and contraindications to usage.
Physicians are responsible for knowing the proper indications for drugs that they prescribe, as well as dangerous drug interactions and side effects. In some cases, a medication is so dangerous that ongoing monitoring or testing is required to safely administer the medication. In this regard, an attending physician in a hospital setting is required to give orders to the nursing staff setting forth the requirements for monitoring and testing. A failure to adequately monitor or test is considered to be an act of medical malpractice.
The nursing staff is also required to administer prescriptions that are ordered by treating doctors. The nurses must be aware of the drug’s side effects, so that they can monitor the patient’s response to the medication. Nurses should also be aware of dosages and drug interactions in order to alert physicians about dangerous clinical scenarios.
An experienced medication error lawyer in Cleveland, OH will know to obtain all of the medical records, including hospital policies and procedures, the Medication Administration Record (MAR), and in-hospital reference materials, such as PYXIS, to evaluate the root cause of a medication error. Another useful resource is the drug’s package insert. This is a “user manual” supplied by the drug manufacturer that sets forth the drug’s indications, potential side effects, worrisome drug interactions, contraindications and, occasionally, black box warnings that warn of potentially fatal or catastrophic complications associated with the medication. We, the lawyers at Mishkind Kulwicki Law, are experienced medication error lawyers, having a combined 60+ years of experience and well over 100 lawsuits involving medical claims to our credit. Our results and experience speak for themselves. Please call if you have any questions to speak with our Medication Error Lawyer Cleveland, OH residents trust. We are here to help.