Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

FDA Warns of Compounding and Dosing Errors with Injectable Semaglutide Products

October 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The United States has become increasingly heavier over the past half century — overall obesity rates have increased three-fold since the 1960s. Currently, more than two-thirds of U.S. residents are now, by definition, overweight with those individuals qualifying as obese making up more than 40 percent of the population. Even more disturbing is the fact that one in ten individuals meet the medical criteria for a person who is morbidly obese, which can be a life-threatening condition if not counteracted by a change of diet and exercise.

Sadly, this increase in national obesity hasn’t happened overnight; in fact, it’s been a gradual and relentless process that has seen the number of overweight individuals in this country tripling over the past 60 years. Furthermore, the incidence of severe (morbid) obesity has increased ten-fold since the 1960s, and shockingly the figures may actually be an underestimation of this nationwide problem. Here in Maryland, the obesity rate is slightly below the national average at 34.3 percent as of 2021, but that is hardly any consolation.

With such a large number of overweight individuals in the U.S., dieting and nutritional advice has become big business over the past several decades. So many people, hoping to shed excessive weight quickly and with less effort, have fueled an entire industry of weight loss programs, supplements and prescription drugs. Enter Semaglutide, an FDA-approved pharmaceutical marketed by Novo Nordisk under several different brand names, which is being used to help patients with Type 2 diabetes and chronic obesity. This latest answer to the country’s obesity epidemic has shown great promise since its introduction several years ago, but as with many medications there are potential pitfalls and dangers facing those who take advantage of this breakthrough drug.

Pharmacy Compounding Errors and Legal Accountability in Maryland

September 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacies play a critical role in ensuring patients receive the correct medications. When a pharmacy fails in its duties, particularly with compounded medications, the results can be disastrous, as seen in a recent case where children were hospitalized after receiving incorrectly compounded prescriptions. Pharmacy errors, like improper compounding, can lead to severe consequences. Under Maryland law, pharmacies must adhere to stringent regulations to ensure patient safety. Understanding these regulations and what happens when they are violated is essential for those affected by such mistakes.

Maryland Regulations for Pharmacy Compounding

In Maryland, pharmacies that engage in compounding must comply with state and federal laws designed to protect patients. Compounding is not as simple as filling a prescription—it requires creating custom medication by combining ingredients based on a patient’s needs. This process requires precision and oversight, and pharmacists are legally obligated to ensure that the medications they prepare are accurate, safe, and adequately documented.

Children Given COVID-19 Vaccine Instead of Flu Shots at a Walgreens Pharmacy

August 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Vaccine and pharmaceutical errors can have serious consequences, especially when the wrong medication or dosage is administered. While vaccines are a vital part of public health, mistakes in their administration can lead to unintended injuries and significant concern for families. Understanding your rights under Maryland law is crucial if your child has been affected by a pharmacy error.

Walgreens Pharmacy Error Leads to COVID-19 Vaccination of Young Children

An Indiana couple previously reported that their 4- and 5-year-old children were mistakenly given adult doses of the COVID-19 vaccine instead of the flu shots they were scheduled to receive at a local Walgreens pharmacy. The mix-up occurred during a routine vaccination appointment, leaving the parents deeply concerned about the potential health impacts on their young children.

Cyberattack on Ascension Hospitals Could Lead to Serious Pharmaceutical Errors

July 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent cyberattack on one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, Ascension, has resulted in significant lapses in patient care, including serious pharmaceutical errors. The attack affected 140 hospitals across multiple states and locked providers out of critical systems that track and coordinate patient care. These disruptions have led to medication errors, delayed treatments, and compromised patient safety. Victims of such pharmaceutical errors should contact a Maryland pharmaceutical error attorney to understand their rights and seek justice for the harm caused.

How Do Pharmaceutical Errors Occur?

Pharmaceutical errors can occur for various reasons, often stemming from lapses in the healthcare system. In the recent cyberattack on Ascension hospitals, losing access to electronic health records and other vital systems forced healthcare providers to revert to paper documentation. This sudden shift led to confusion and errors as medical staff struggled to decipher handwritten notes and manually manage medication orders.

Medication errors can happen at any stage, from prescribing to administering drugs. Common causes include incorrect dosage, wrong medication, and failure to recognize patient allergies or interactions with other medications. In the chaos following the cyberattack, these errors became more frequent and severe, highlighting the importance of reliable electronic systems in modern healthcare.

Pharmacy Errors Involving Children: What You Need to Know

June 22, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors can have serious consequences, especially when children are involved. At Lebowitz & Mzhen, we understand the fear and frustration you may feel if your child has been harmed due to a pharmacy error. This blog post will help you understand the common types of pharmacy errors involving children and what steps you can take to protect your family.

Common Types of Pharmacy Errors Involving Children

Pharmacy errors can happen in various ways, and when they involve children, the results can be particularly severe. Some common types of errors include:

Pharmacy Insulin Mistake Almost Results in Fatal Accident

May 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the medicine. Whether it is at the pharmacy or in the hospital, it is essential to be aware of safety measures that could make a major difference in the care you receive. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly present in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of emerging best practices in the face of the increased computerization of pharmacies and hospital medication cabinets.

What Are Common Illnesses Caused By Medication Errors?

According to a recent news report, a Mocksville woman has filed a complaint with the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy after she says she was recently given the wrong insulin at a Walgreens pharmacy. The woman from Mocksville, who didn’t want her identity revealed, says she’s had type 1 diabetes for 24 years. She has worn an insulin pump for 23 years. She told reporters that she had never had a problem like this before, so she didn’t think something like this could happen. She was quoted as saying, “surely, you know, they can’t give you the wrong insulin.”

Pharmacy With History of Sanctions, Fined After Life-Threatening Medication Error

April 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the proper medicine. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice. Pharmacies are increasingly short-staffed and overworked, leading to frequent errors when distributing medication. When receiving a prescription, it can be worthwhile to ask if the bottle, pills, or anything else about the order is different than usual or expected.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly frequent in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of this issue throughout the state and the country. A recent news article discussed a medication error that left a customer in the emergency room.

The article discusses how Greenville Pharmacy in Sioux City incorrectly filled a prescription for a customer who then began taking the drug. Three weeks later, the customer was treated in the emergency room of a hospital and was then admitted for what the board says was a “life-threatening condition resulting from this medication error.” Greenville Pharmacy was charged by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy with dispensing an incorrect prescription, although the available public documents don’t indicate whether the wrong drug or wrong dosage was dispensed. The records give no indication as to whether the customer recovered. As a result of the licensing board charge, Greenville Pharmacy agreed to have its license placed on probation for two years and agreed to pay a $2,500 civil penalty. Greenville Pharmacy has been sanctioned twice before, in 2002, and in 2005, for violating a law related to the practice of pharmacy and with the intentional or repeated violation of board rules.

Pharmacy Error for ADHD Medication Leaves Five-Year-Old Sick

March 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

People who regularly take prescription medicine or have received prescription medication in a hospital or clinic setting can appreciate the vital importance of best practices when it comes to receiving the medicine. Whether it is at the pharmacy or in the hospital, it is essential to be aware of safety measures that could make a major difference in the care you receive. Every patient deserves peace of mind when it comes to their medications, and to live free of the consequences of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice.

Incorrect or erroneous distribution or application of medications is surprisingly frequent in the United States. In fact, some sources cite a rate of one in five Americans experiencing a medical error while receiving health treatment. Unfortunately, Maryland is no exception to this trend, and Maryland residents should be aware of this issue throughout the state and the country. A recent news article discussed a medication error where a young child was given the wrong dosage by a pharmacy.

The article discusses a woman who says that a pharmacy error sickened her daughter when the girl received the wrong dosage of a liquid medication used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. The mother has since filed a complaint with the Board of Pharmacy after her daughter received a 5 daily milliliter dose of Quillivant XR instead of the prescribed 1 daily milliliter, stating that her daughter was admitted to the emergency room because of side effects from the higher dosage of medication. The state agency confirmed that a complaint had been filed. When she confronted Walgreens about the error, a pharmacist told the mother that the staff was rushed due to limited staffing levels and the order was misread. Walgreens issued a statement saying they do not discuss individual cases to protect patient confidentiality.

Walgreens Pharmacist Prescribes 5-Year-Old Dosage 5x Too Strong

February 29, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to recent reporting, millions of medication errors occur each year, often at chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, where a pharmacist may fill hundreds of prescriptions during a shift while juggling other tasks such as giving vaccinations, calling doctors’ offices to confirm prescriptions and working the drive-through. In a recent survey of California licensed pharmacists in 2021, 91% of pharmacists working at chain pharmacies stated that staffing was insufficient to provide adequate care to patients. The state’s Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory board, requires pharmacies to document and track errors internally and inform patients about mistakes under some circumstances, only 62% of pharmacists working in chains stated that stores were following those rules according to the 2021 survey.

One documented error resulted in the improper dose of a hormonal treatment for breast cancer being delivered. Another case resulted in a pregnant patient suffering a fall after she was given two drugs prescribed to another customer. One patient took prednisone, a powerful steroid, for 89 days after a Walgreens pharmacist confused the drug with Prilosec, the heartburn drug that had actually been prescribed. A pharmacist at CVS gave a patient another customer’s prescription for 50-milligram tablets of Zoloft, the antidepressant, according to a February citation. The person took the wrong drug for at least seven months, refilling the prescription three times.

How Common Are Medication Errors?

According to reports, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives approximately 100,000 medication error reports annually. In 2010, the FDA received only 16,689, but by 2018, the agency was receiving more than 100,000 reports per year. Experts point out that medication error reports are submitted on a voluntary basis, meaning that true medication errors are likely even higher.

Pharmacist Disciplined After Fatal Medication Error Occurs in Hospital

February 20, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medication errors often occur after a series of failures on the part of a healthcare provider. For example, a doctor may fail to communicate with a pharmacist after suspecting a medication mix-up. In other cases, a pharmacy may lack proper procedures to verify that a pharmacist has added the correct label to the correct medication. Although individual healthcare providers often receive professional discipline after a medication error, professional licensing boards may fail to hold pharmacists or hospitals accountable for their role in the error.

As a recent news article reported, a state Board of Pharmacy gave two years’ probation to a pharmacist after a fatal medication error. According to the article, hospital staff were preparing a patient suffering a gastrointestinal bleed for a colonoscopy. The patient was supposed to receive a bowel prep medication. Instead, the patient received a dialysis liquid and died hours later.

The Kentucky Board’s investigation found that the pharmacist sent the medication label to a nurse without verifying its accuracy. According to the investigation papers, the nurse mistook the dialysis solution for the colonoscopy prep medication. After the nurse attempted to scan the medication label to ensure it was the correct medication, the nurse found it would not scan. When the nurse called the pharmacy, the pharmacist sent a new label for scanning rather than double-checking the medication or sending a new supply. In addition to the pharmacist’s errors, the investigation cited several other issues that contributed to the fatal medication error, including low nurse staffing levels and a nurse’s failure to verify the medication information.