When someone is in the hospital, they expect their caregivers to administer the correct dosage and type of medication.
Unfortunately, between 7,000 and 9,000 people die due to medication errors each year in the United States, while hundreds of thousands of others don’t report medicinal complications from errors.
Hospital medication errors cost the United States more than $40 billion each year and decrease patients’ trust in and satisfaction with the healthcare system as a whole.
If you or a loved one suffered complications from a medication error, the healthcare provider might be liable for your injuries.
Contact Poulos & Coates today to schedule a free initial consultation. One of our medical malpractice attorneys will review the details of your case and determine if you have a claim.
How Can You Sue a Hospital for Giving Wrong Medication?
A lawsuit alleging hospital medication errors is a medical malpractice claim. To prevail in a medical malpractice claim, you must prove three factors:
- You and the hospital’s physician had a doctor-patient relationship that imposed a duty of care on the healthcare provider;
- The healthcare provider deviated from the generally accepted standard of care when they gave you incorrect medication advice, gave you an incorrect dosage, or administered the wrong medication; and
- You suffered injuries due to the error.
It is hard to recognize medication errors because many patients expect some side effects when they take a new prescription.
Additionally, untrained medical professionals are typically unaware of medication names and correct dosages.
If you suffered harm due to a medication error, contact an attorney at Poulos & Coates to discuss your case.
How Do Hospital Medication Errors Happen?
A hospital medication error can happen for many reasons, such as:
- Administering an expired medication,
- Failure to consider a patient’s age and weight,
- Distracted physicians,
- Poor handwriting,
- Giving a patient more medication than they need,
- Lack of proper directions,
- Injecting a medication at the incorrect rate,
- Giving a patient their medication ahead of schedule,
- Administering the incorrect dosage, or
- Administering a medication the patient is allergic to.
A medication error can have severe consequences that result in costly medical treatment.
If you suffered complications from a medication error, contact Poulos & Coates today, so we can review the details of your malpractice claim.
Want to Know How to Sue for a Medication Error? Contact Poulos & Coates Today
Our team at Poulos & Coates has over seven decades of experience helping our clients and their families hold negligent healthcare professionals accountable for medication errors.
We have a medical doctor and a nurse on our staff who are prepared to investigate the correct dosage, type, and duration of medication prescribed and determine whether a medication error occurred in your case.
Poulos & Coates specializes in medical malpractice claims and knows what it takes to secure favorable results for our clients.
Contact our office today so we can review your case.