Pharmacy Error Lawyer & Medication Mistake Attorney

Serving residents in Springfield, Greenfield, Northampton, and throughout Massachusetts.

Pharmaceutical drugs are wonderful when they work well and are properly administered, but they can also be dangerous.  Incorrect medication, dosage, or directions can cause hardship, illness, and even death.

At Alekman DiTusa, LLC, we represent clients who have suffered injuries or illnesses due to a medication mistake or pharmacy error. From our Springfield and Northampton Massachusetts law offices, we provide personalized and caring service while achieving results for our clients.

Do not let your doctor or pharmacist make you think that it’s your fault for not identifying their error. If you complain that a prescription is not working or creates unexpected, adverse side effects, those complaints should be taken seriously.  If your doctor or pharmacist provides the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, or failed to take into account the interaction between other medications that you are taking, this is their fault – not yours.

Contact Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation if You Were Harmed by a Pharmacy or Medication Error

We accept pharmacy and medication error lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, so there is no fee for our services unless compensation is recovered.

How We Represent Clients in Medication Error Lawsuits

As prescription error lawyers and medication mistake attorneys, we are dedicated to helping clients pursue the maximum compensation possible.  We can look for all liable parties and seek to hold physicians, obstetricians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other medical personnel accountable for their negligent conduct.

We thoroughly investigate each incident, reviewing hospital records, policies, and other information.  We can also retain medical experts to determine if medical or pharmacy personnel did not follow the appropriate procedures and practices to ensure that medications errors did not occur.

If your case proceeds to trial, we advance all litigation expenses while the case is ongoing, so you do not have to pay any upfront, out-of-pocket expense.

How Do Pharmacy and Medication Errors Usually Occur?

Medication errors harm an estimated 1.5 million people every year, costing at least $3.5 billion annually. [1]  In some cases, prescription drug errors can be caused by the negligence of a prescribing physician, nurse, or hospital personnel.  Claims often arise from:

• Poor written or oral communications
• Carelessness
• Electronic Medical System (EMR) glitches
• Overworked staff
• Insufficient safety precautions
• The wrong amount – too little or too large of a dose – is prescribed or administered
• Medication is not administered in a timely manner
• A patient history, check for drug interactions, allergies, or relevant lab tests are not taken
• Drugs with similar names are confused
• Medications are recklessly prescribed to patients with histories of substance abuse

Medication errors can have devastating consequences, as they may deprive patients of much-needed treatment, lead to overdoses, or put individuals at risk for an adverse reaction to an unknown drug.

Outside clinical settings, many errors also occur in pharmacies, often as the result of:

• Physician handwriting. Physician handwriting has a reputation for being hard to read. However, if a pharmacist has a handwriting question, the prescription must be confirmed before filling.

• Pharmacist medication dispensation error.  Pharmacists are human beings who can make mistakes. Pharmacists can, and do, mistakenly place the wrong pills in bottles.

• Pharmacist dosage or instruction error. The pharmacist can provide the right medication but can still be liable if the wrong dosage or incorrect dosage instructions are provided.  For instance, if a bottle says take once per day instead of once per week, the results can be costly.

Can I Sue for a Pharmacy Error if I Do Not Have My Prescription Bottle?

Yes.

One of the challenges with a medication mistake or pharmacy error is that it is difficult to prove what was put in a bottle, especially if a drug or prescription container is no longer available.  Consequently, without hard evidence, pharmacists often try to blame patients, and physicians point the finger at pharmacists.  In cases like these, our experienced pharmacy error lawyers routinely work with forensic investigators and experts to seek the proof necessary to root out at-fault parties.

Can I Sue for a Medication Mistake or Prescription Drug Error?

When an individual suffers an injury because of a medication error, they may have the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit; however, not every mistake warrants legal action.  To prevail in a lawsuit, a plaintiff must prove the following:

• Duty of Care.  Healthcare providers and pharmacists have an obligation to keep patients safe by acting in a manner that a qualified doctor or pharmacist in the same or similar circumstance would.  In reference to prescriptions, this includes being aware of a patient’s condition, allergies, and other medications they are taking.

• Breach of Duty.  When professionals are irresponsible or administer suboptimum care, resulting in further injury or sickness, they can be held liable for breaching their duty.  For example, if a doctor or pharmacist fails to ask about other medications, and a patient has an adverse drug interaction, they can be liable for any harm caused by the failure to ask about other prescriptions.

• Cause.  Prescribing or filling the wrong prescription does not automatically constitute negligence.  The error must directly cause harm in order to be legally actionable.

• Damages.  Damages are the physical, emotional, and/or economic damages that result from an injury.  This can include hospital bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, rehabilitation costs, and other expenses.

As attorneys with decades of experience assisting injured clients, we know what is required to succeed in recovering compensation through settlements and at trial.  If a medication error has injured you or a loved one, we can listen to the facts of your case, conduct a thorough investigation to identify all liable parties, and assist in seeking the full and fair compensation you deserve.

We Invite You to Call Us Today If You Have Been Harmed Because of a Medication Error

It is vital to act immediately to protect your rights, as Massachusetts has a strict statute of limitations for prescription error cases.  Under Massachusetts law, you only have three years from the date of the incident to file a medical malpractice claim.2  The statute of limitations may be tolled (delayed) in certain circumstances; however, these situations are very limited.  Because you only have a small window to file, it is critical to reach out to our office as soon as possible.

Call today to schedule a free case evaluation with our experienced pharmacy error attorneys.

[1] The alarming reality of medication error: a patient case and review of Pennsylvania and National Data, NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5016741/#:~:text=Medication%20errors%20harm%20an%20estimated,(3)%20(N).