When a pharmacist incorrectly fills a patient’s prescription, the problem created is two-fold. First, the patient often ends up taking medication that was not prescribed to them. Of course, depending on the type of medication involved, this can cause serious side effects. In some cases, the damage caused by taking this unprescribed medication can result in life-long effects.
The other danger involved in a Maryland pharmacy error is that the patient is not receiving the medication that they were prescribed. In most cases, a physician prescribes medication to a patient because it is imperative for the patient’s health. If a patient does not take prescribed medication based on a pharmacist’s error, or if the patient takes unprescribed medication due to a pharmacist’s error, the pharmacist may be held liable for any injuries that result.
In some cases, a patient realizes that they have been taking the incorrect medication based on the symptoms they are experiencing or after double-checking the prescription label. However, one of the problems that the victims of pharmacy errors often encounter is that they may not experience symptoms of the error immediately. Or, if they do experience some symptoms, they may not link the new symptoms to an undiscovered pharmacy error.