If your doctor prescribes you the wrong medication and it ends up causing you harm, you could have a valid claim for medical malpractice. But these kinds of cases are very complex from both a legal and medical standpoint.
Full Answer
What happens if a doctor gives you the wrong medicine?
If a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional gave you the wrong medication, you may have a medical malpractice lawsuit on your hands. Whether you received a HAM drug or another type of medication that was incorrect, the effects can range from minor to fatal.
Should medical errors be criminalized?
The American Nurses Association issued a statement criticizing the charges, saying that "the criminalization of medical errors could have a chilling effect" on health care workers' willingness to report errors.
Is it medical malpractice if a doctor fails to prescribe medication correctly?
It is a common form of medical malpractice and usually occurs out of negligence. The problem can also begin in the prescription process when the patient is being prescribed the drug. Common ways a medial professional fails to correctly prescribe are: Contact a personal injury lawyer today at Salter Ferguson, LLC to schedule your consultation.
What is medication error and how to avoid it?
Medication error does not always stem from using the wrong medication; sometimes adverse effects occur after using the right medication incorrectly. Ingesting the wrong amount of medication can cause a range of adverse effects on a patient.
What happens if you give a patient the wrong medication?
Dispensing the Wrong Drug Can Cause Great Harm Missing a drug dose due to a nurse's failure to administer it could fail the patient's entire treatment regimen. The immediate medical consequences of medication errors might include the formation of blood clots or a failed surgical procedure.
What should you do if you make a medication error?
The best time to report an event is as soon as possible after the occurrence, and the best individual to report the event is the individual who was involved or who discovered or observed the event. Institutions should encourage all employees to report events and not assume the issue is already known to management.
Do patients have a right to treatment?
A patient has the right not to be awakened by staff unless it is medically necessary. A patient has the right to be free from needless duplication of medical and nursing procedures. A patient has the right to treatment that avoids unnecessary discomfort.
What happens to a nurse who makes a medication error?
Consequences for the nurse For a nurse who makes a medication error, consequences may include disciplinary action by the state board of nursing, job dismissal, mental anguish, and possible civil or criminal charges.
Who is responsible for medication errors?
Who Can Be Liable for Prescription Drug Errors? In a nutshell, anyone and everyone along the chain of prescribing and administering a medication can be liable for prescription drug errors. This includes doctors, nurses, hospitals, the pharmacy departments in hospitals, pharmacists, and the pharmaceutical manufacturer.
What would you do if you accidentally commit a wrong dispensing How will you deal with an irate patient who was hospitalized and wants you fired in your job?
Acknowledge that a mistake has happened and offer an apology. Inform your doctor about what happened (if you have taken any doses of the wrong medicine). Advise you to see your doctor or go to the hospital (if you may have been harmed or put at risk by taking the wrong medicine).
What is the right to treatment?
For patients and families, this means that a person admitted to a public psychiatric hospital has a right to receive—and should receive—the standard of care delivered in any accredited psychiatric setting.
What is patient rights and responsibilities?
As a patient you have the RIGHT to: Be respected for your cultural, spiritual and personal values, dignity, beliefs and preferences. • Privacy during care, examination, treatment and conversations with your physician and other health care providers.
Does a patient have the right to refuse treatment?
To the extent permitted by law, participation shall include the right to refuse treatment." Under federal law, the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) guarantees the right to refuse life sustaining treatment at the end of life.
What action should a nurse take first when a medication error is made?
A nurse makes a medication error. Which action should the nurse take first? 1. Prepare a patient safety or incident report so that the facility can determine the root causes of the error.
About Medical Malpractice
First a basic definition of medical malpractice. Medical malpractice refers to any mistakes made by medical professionals that lead to harm or injury to a patient. This covers physicians, surgeons, nurses, radiologists, pharmacists, and so on.
What does it mean to treat the incorrect patient?
By treating the incorrect patient, this means that one patient receives the care that was intended for another patient. This is often as case of mistaken identity or poorly verified identity, and it can occur at a clerical or administrative level or even in actual hospitals and doctor's offices if charts are misplaced.
Why This Needs to Be Taken So Seriously
If a person does not receive the correct medical care for his or her conditions, this can have dire consequences. Often, when doctors treat the incorrect patient it means that the patient being treated has his or her well-being put at risk. Sometimes this can mean unnecessary surgery or the wrong medication.
What Doctors and Hospitals Need to Do
We feel that doctors and medical staff need to take greater care in verifying the identity of patients. This includes proper entry of names at a clerical and administrative level a well as simple verifications when face-to-face with the patient and/or the patient's loved ones.
How Our Legal Team Can Help You
Our medical malpractice lawyers will fight diligently for you and your loved ones each step of the way. We will take all negligent medical professionals to task to ensure that the people who make such serious mistakes are properly rooted out.
Learn More About Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
For more information about medical errors and what your legal rights are following such acts of negligence, be sure to contact our medical malpractice attorneys serving Provo today. The entire team here looks forward to meeting you in person and helping you achieve justice as well as just compensation for any hardships that you have experienced.
What are the most common medications that are administered incorrectly?
Some of the most common medications to be administered incorrectly include: Antipsychotics. Sedatives. Painkillers. Blood Thinners. Antihistamines. Antidepressants.
What is intentional error in nursing?
This happens when caregivers are trying to improperly sedate a patient and when nursing home staff is trying to illegally steal or reallocate medication.
How many people in nursing homes are wrong ingestion?
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than one in five patients in nursing homes suffer adverse effects due to substandard care, and more than 37% of these errors are related to medication. These are some of the most common causes of wrong medication ingestion in nursing homes:
Can medication error cause adverse health effects?
In addition to ingestion of the wrong medication, there are other actions that may cause medication error and lead to adverse health effects. Many of these problems occur when physicians and caregivers are not adequately accounting for the interactions between medication and the other substances the patient ingests.
Can elderly people take the wrong medicine?
The elderly are often on multiple medications simultaneously, so there is an increased risk of taking the wrong medication. Taking the wrong medication can lead to harmful side effects, organ failure, and even death. It is very important that the elderly, their caregivers, and their physicians do everything they can to prevent the ingestion of the wrong medication. It’s also important to keep track of what’s being taken and any unusual side effects. This can help you notice a mistake before more harmful side effects start occurring.
Can over the counter medications be mixed with prescriptions?
Some over-the-counter products will produce serious side effects when mixed with prescription drugs. It is always important to follow a physician’s directions exactly especially when he mentions what types of drugs should not be used in conjunction with the medication. In addition, caregivers and the elderly should consult with the physician before ingesting over-the-counter products that they haven’t taken before.
Can misdiagnosis lead to confusion?
Sometimes the physician is responsible for the mistake. Misdiagnosis can lead to prescribing the wrong medication, and there can also be confusion when medications are similarly named or have similar abbreviations.
Can I Sue a Nurse Who Gave Me The Wrong Medicine?
Medical malpractice claims like these often serve two purposes. One, they help the victim or family members recover the compensation they need to pay for the expenses associated with the error.
Ways Nurses Can Make Mistakes With the Administration of Medicine
Medicine administration errors are, unfortunately, extremely prevalent, accounting for up to 32% of all errors. Avoiding these mistakes is imperative, so why do they happen so often?
When Does Nursing Malpractice Occur?
The most distressing thing is, nursing malpractice can happen anywhere and anytime a nurse is involved in giving care. A nurse can make a medical mistake in an emergency room, in a regular doctor’s office for a standard checkup, in a school nurse’s office, or in any number of clinic situations.
Improper Administration of Medication
Unfortunately, the improper administration of medication occurs more often than most of us realize. It is estimated that more than 7,000 people die annually due to medication errors.
Who Is Responsible for Nursing Malpractice?
When medication administration errors occur, it may not be immediately apparent who is responsible.
Could I Sue a Nurse for Medical Malpractice?
Anyone who has suffered from a drug administration error at the hands of a nurse in Albany or elsewhere in New York could be eligible to sue those who are responsible for the mistake.
Contact Us for Legal Help with a Medical Error Claim
If you are the victim of nursing malpractice, Powers & Santola, LLP can help. You do not have to suffer the consequences of someone else’s mistake alone. With our help, you can recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
What are the rights of a physician?
Physician's Rights: Right to select the patient they wish to treat, payment for all treatment provided, can withdraw if patient non-cooperative or refuse to pay bills when able to do so, right to refuse service to patients. Physician's Responsibilities:
What is the American Hospital Association's statement on patients?
American Hospital Association developed a published statement called: A Patients Bill of Rights. Written statement in which people state the type and amount of care they wish to receive during a terminal illness and death approaches: Advanced Directive - provides protection for both patient and physician.
What are the duties of a physician during an emergency?
Physicians Duties During a Medical Emergency: - Cannot ethically or legally turn a patient away who is in an emergency situation. -If unable to adequately treat patient, must call 911 for emergency assistance. -Patients cannot be turned away from a hospital or physician office if they are indigent or uninsured.
How long does an incompetent patient have to be held?
In situation where the physician believes the incompetent patients poses a threat, the doctor may: - submit emergency application to a judge to hold for 72 hrs. - a formal (due process) hearing.
What is the definition of confidentiality in medical terms?
Confidentiality. A physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other health professionals: Continued Study.
What is consent in medical terms?
Consent is: a. A voluntary agreement that a patient gives to allow a medically trained person the permission to touch, examine, and perform a treatment. b. an involuntary agreement that a patient gives to allow a medically trained person the permission to touch, examine, and perform a treatment.
Why should health care mistakes be analyzed?
All health care mistakes — even small ones — should be analyzed to understand the underlying issues that caused them , Ross says. A non-punitive approach encourages transparency, she says, and "that prevents future mistakes or errors from happening.".
What is the American Nurses Association's statement criticizing the charges?
The American Nurses Association issued a statement criticizing the charges, saying that "the criminalization of medical errors could have a chilling effect" on health care workers' willingness to report errors.
What was the name of the nurse who was arrested for a medical error?
Vaught, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was charged with reckless homicide after a medication error killed a patient. A former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and abuse in February for making a medical mistake that resulted in an elderly ...
When did the Institute of Medicine publish the report "To Err Is Human"?
When the Institute of Medicine — now known as the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — put out a major 1999 report titled To Err Is Human, Manges says, it became the norm to focus less on punishment and more on learning from mistakes.
Is Radonda Vaught guilty of medical errors?
Some are voicing concern that the move sets a precedent that may actually make hospitals less safe by making people hesitant to report errors. The nurse, RaDonda Vaught, pleaded not guilty. Her next hearing is scheduled for April 11.
Do hospitals have to punish staff for mistakes?
And when health care workers do make mistakes, Ross argues hospitals usually shouldn't punish staff. Disciplinary action is warranted, she says, only when there's evidence that staff acted irresponsibly.
Do nurses scan bar codes?
For example, many hospitals require a nurse to scan a bar code from the pharmacy and on the patient's identifying bracelet before giving a medication, or to use pre programmed intravenous pumps that prevent medications from being administered too quickly.
Who Is at Risk?
How Do Medication Mistakes in Hospitals occur?
- Medication errors occur in hospitals for many reasons. One problem that leads to this kind of mistake is the fact that many drugs have similar names. Doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and pharmacists need to be extra careful when dealing with medications that sound similar to other drugs. Another reason for medication mistakes is that there are many people involved in the pro…
Serious Medication Errors
- While patient harm can occur involving any type of medication error, there are some drugs that can cause patients very serious injuries and even death when used in error. These types of drugs are identified as high-alert medications (HAM). According to The Joint Commission (TJC), there are four HAM classes that are identified to have some of the most harmful outcomes when mis…
Proving Medical Malpractice Involving Wrong Medications
- Our law firm proves medical negligence by showing that the medical provider failed to use the same degree of care that another competent medical professional would have used. Whether your case is against a doctor, nurse, hospital or pharmacy, it is critical that you have an experienced lawyer handling your case when it comes to medical malpractice ...