Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Fatal Pharmacy Errors and the Parties Responsible for Preventing Them

July 1, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors are an unfortunately common phenomenon across the United States. Most often, these errors stem from a single problem: a lack of oversight. Often, serious pharmacy errors occur due to a busy pharmacist or pharmacist technician filling an order in haste, rather than taking the proper amount of time and double-checking their work. Ultimately, the responsibility for these errors falls not only on the pharmacist technician making the mistake but also on management in charge of supervising that pharmacist’s work.

In fact, the responsibility for a serious or fatal pharmacy error may lie with several parties. Depending on the specific facts involved in each case, liability may lie with the pharmacist, the management of the pharmacy, and potentially even with other supervising organizations. A recent article discussing a situation in Canada gives an example not often seen here in the United States, but one that could possibly arise.

First Nation Leaders Concerned over Dozens of Deaths Tied to Pharmacy Errors

Over two dozen First Nation citizens in Canada have died at least in part due to pharmacy errors that have occurred over the past 10 months. According to a local news source covering the deaths, all First Nation people in Canada have a specific company that oversees all their prescription drug needs. This company has a contract with the Canadian government.

Boy Dies after Being Given 1,000 Times the Strength of His Prescribed Dose of Medication

June 29, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors are fairly commonplace, but they range in severity and cause. While most serious pharmacy errors are the result of a pharmacist providing a patient with the wrong medication, there are a good number of errors that are the result of a patient receiving the correct medication but the wrong dose. These errors are especially dangerous to children, who are often prescribed minute amounts of a medication due to their small size and low tolerance of serious medications.

Regardless of the reason for an error or the type of error, pharmacists are ultimately responsible for the medications they provide to their patients. While a pharmacist may not be found to be liable if the doctor fills out the wrong prescription, when a pharmacist receives a correct prescription but improperly fills it, liability may arise. This is even the case if the pharmacist was well-intentioned at the time of the mistake.

Recent Pharmacy Error Claims Eight-Year-Old Boy’s Life

Earlier this month in Colorado, a young boy died after ingesting 1,000 times the prescribed dose of his ADHD medication, Clonidine. According to a recent news article reporting on the tragic accident, the young boy was initially given the extreme dose back around Halloween of last year. He was hospitalized for a short time and then released. It seemed as though he was doing fine, but then his condition started to worsen again. He died a short time after he was admitted to the hospital.

Pharmacists Among Top Professions Most Likely to Be Replaced by Robots

June 22, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It’s no secret that pharmacists are prone to making mistakes. It’s nothing against pharmacists themselves, but merely the fact that they are human, and humans make mistakes. In fact, it is estimated that each year there are between two and three million prescription errors occurring in pharmacies across the nation. Most of these errors are caught before the patient ingests the medication, and many of those that are not caught do not result in serious life-threatening consequences. However, approximately 7,000 deaths each year are caused by pharmacy errors.

The causes of pharmacy errors are several. Most commonly, pharmacy errors are the result of overworked and overburdened pharmacists. Pharmacies, like other businesses, operate for a profit. The higher the cost of labor, the less there is left at the end of the day in profit. Thus, pharmacy management tries to staff just enough technicians and pharmacists to get the job done. However, often an unexpected demand arises, and pharmacists are put in a position where they need to fill this increased demand. This results in less time per patient and an increase in the likelihood that a pharmacist will make a mistake.

Could Pharmacists Be Replaced by Machines?

A recent article listing the top nine jobs that could be replaced by robots placed pharmacists at the top of the list. (The remaining eight professions were cab drivers, debt collectors, bank tellers, writers, astronauts, waiters and waitresses, rescue workers, and housekeepers). Regarding pharmacists, the article cited a 2011 study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, in which two hospitals implemented a completely automated, robot-controlled pharmacy. The results of the study were fascinating, in that not one error was reported in the 350,000 prescription orders that were filled.

Customer Service at Specialty Pharmacies May Be an Issue for Some Patients

June 15, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As business practices across the board evolve, so does the pharmacy industry. And with brick-and-mortar pharmacies requiring high month-to-month operating costs, mail-order pharmacies are becoming more common as a way for some patients to save money on their costly prescriptions. With the increase in popularity of mail-order pharmacies, more and more people are getting experience dealing with these companies, which do not present any opportunity for face-to-face interaction.

The truth of the matter is that pharmacies – regardless of where they are based – have a duty to their patients to accurately fill all prescriptions. And if a mail-order pharmacy can save customers money on prescriptions by not needing to pay real-estate or rental costs, that is fine, but pharmacies should not cut corners when it comes to staffing or customer service. However, that is exactly what one woman experienced when trying to secure her husband’s necessary daily medications from one mail-order pharmacy.

According to a recent article by Forbes, customer service at some mail-order pharmacies may be so poor that it puts patients in danger of running out of necessary medication. The article details the plight of a woman whose husband had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Aside from dealing with the life-changing realizations the diagnosis brought, the couple also had to find a way to ensure a steady supply of the husband’s extremely expensive day-to-day medications.

$3 Million Verdict Upheld in Topamax Birth Injury Lawsuit

June 8, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, a federal appellate court issued an opinion upholding a lower court’s verdict in favor of a mother whose child was born with a cleft palate and lip. According to one news source covering the case, the young girl suffers from hearing loss and speech problems, and she has undergone approximately 14 surgeries to correct the condition. The plaintiffs claim that the girl has also been subject to teasing and bullying as a result of her appearance and speech.

The case was brought against a subsidiary of a drug manufacturing giant, Johnson & Johnson, and it alleged that the company failed to warn doctors that pregnant patients may experience a heightened chance of birth defects if they take Topamax during the first trimester of pregnancy.

A Drug Manufacturer’s Duty to the Public

In general, manufacturers of over-the-counter and prescription drugs have a duty to warn people who may take a drug of any potential serious side effects. Of course, not every side effect of a medication is known at the time of manufacture, so only those potential complications that are known about must be disclosed. However, if a company fails to warn patients or prescribing physicians of potential dangers associated with the medication, the manufacturer may be held liable for injuries caused as a result.

People Suffering from Complex Diseases Experience More Frequent Medication Errors

May 27, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Almost everyone has been to the pharmacy to fill a prescription at some point in their life. In fact, many people routinely visit the pharmacy each month to get their regular prescriptions filled for maintenance medications. Some of these frequent pharmacy customers have many different prescriptions of which the pharmacist must keep track. And in the case of some HIV patients, the varying doses of the prescribed medication adds yet another element for pharmacy staff to handle.

No matter how complex a patient’s prescription order may be, pharmacists are required to take their time with each order, ensuring that it is properly filled and labeled. In the case of some patients with complex prescription orders, like those diagnosed with HIV, this may mean a significant amount of work for the pharmacist, including fielding constant updates from a patient’s care providers about the patient’s status and current prescription requirements. With this increased workload, unfortunately, comes an increased chance that an error will be made.

HIV Patients Are Especially at Risk for Medication Errors

According to a recent article by an industry news source, a study may have come up with a way that can decrease the likelihood of medication errors in HIV patients. As with other illnesses, the transitional time between care providers is the most dangerous time for HIV patients. The premise of the study was simple: increase the amount of face-to-face contact the pharmacist has with the patient. Specifically, the pharmacist would be present at the patient’s admission to the hospital as well as each day for some defined period.

Hospital Discharge Is a Crucial Point When Medication Errors Are Often Overlooked

May 20, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

When someone is admitted to the hospital, they generally have a dedicated team of doctors and nurses attending to their every need. Hospital staff is in charge of writing prescriptions, filling them, and then administering the medication to the patient. However, the transitional period following a patient’s discharge from the hospital is another matter, when patients are often left on their own to ensure that the care and medications they receive outside the hospital are congruent to those that are received while under the hospital’s care.

The transition period between hospital care and outpatient care is a critical time during which medication errors often occur, according to one recent news article. In fact, this is seen as one of the most dangerous times for patients, who will likely be treated by a new team of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

The Sad Story of One Patient’s Experience with Hospital Discharge

Mrs. Oyler was admitted to the hospital after she was experiencing congestive heart failure. She was treated at the hospital, where she was prescribed eight new prescriptions. Upon her discharge from the hospital, the pharmacist overseeing the transition failed to accurately document all eight of the new prescriptions, leaving one off the list. The medication was called “metolazone.”

Pharmacists Try New Approach to Reduce Medication Errors, Focusing on Increased Communication

May 13, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors are more common than most people realize, with approximately 7,000 deaths each year being attributed to medication errors. Many of these medication errors occur at retail and hospital pharmacies, where busy pharmacists scramble to fill thousands of prescriptions each day. Even a good-hearted and well-intentioned pharmacist can get overwhelmed by the workload and make a seemingly small mistake that can have enormous consequences for the patient.

Several pharmacies in Vermont are trying to do things a little differently in hopes of decreasing pharmacy errors. According to a recent NPR article, at least two pharmacies in this state are putting together daily packets of medication for their patients so that the patient does not need to open the pill bottles, which may number in the dozens, and keep track of the medication themselves. The packets are prepared 30 days in advance so that a patient can get all their prescriptions for the month in one trip to the pharmacy. The patients who receive this service are mostly elderly and take between 15 and 20 pills per day.

Of course, this system does give rise to concerns about accuracy. One pharmacist explained that a patient he was caring for recently went into the hospital and was taken off a certain cardiac medication. However, the pharmacy was not notified and ended up providing the patient with the pill, even though the provider had stopped prescribing the medication. The pharmacist, seeing this as a big problem with the system, also addresses this concern. Through increased communication with their patients’ medical care providers, pharmacists try and keep up to date with patients’ prescriptions so that a patient’s daily packets do not result in non-prescribed medication being provided to the patient.

Food and Drug Administration Recommends Specific Protocols to Avoid Prescription Errors

May 6, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Medication errors are a major cause of serious injury and death in the United States. In fact, it is estimated that at least 7,000 Americans die each year due to medication-related issues. Many of these are due to patients being provided the wrong drug or wrong dose by their pharmacist. Of course, the pharmaceutical industry and pharmacies themselves are strictly regulated by the United States government, but it is largely left to the individual pharmacist how they go about doing their job on a day-to-day basis. While some pharmacists certainly implement fail-safe protocols to ensure they are error-free, others are more fast and loose, creating an increased risk of a serious or fatal medication error.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government body responsible for the oversight of pharmacies nationwide. According to one industry news source, the FDA has recently issued specific protocols for pharmacists and drug manufacturers to follow so that they can reduce the chance of causing a serious pharmacy error.

One of the issues the FDA sees as a major problem is the fact that many medications with vastly different purposes share similar names. This can lead to a situation in which a busy pharmacist inadvertently grabs the wrong medication and provides it to a patient. To help alleviate this, the FDA recommends that pharmacy staff should “write down the prescription and then read back the medication name, strength, dose, and frequency of administration for verification.”

Maker of Essure Birth Control Device Likely Facing Class Action Lawsuit in Canada

April 29, 2016 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Whenever a person is injured after using a dangerous product, they are able to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, and potentially others in the chain of commerce who handled the item. In the case of dangerous medical products, sometimes there are many people who suffer the exact same or very similar injuries. In these cases, a class action lawsuit may be the best option for the injured patients.

Class Action Lawsuits in General

Generally speaking, class action lawsuits are beneficial for plaintiffs because they allow a large group of plaintiffs to argue their case together. Of course, this can save on legal costs, and it can also help the individual plaintiffs in their negotiations with the defendant manufacturer. However, class action lawsuits are not always appropriate.

One of the biggest hurdles to proceeding with a class action lawsuit is “certifying” the class. Before a class of plaintiffs can proceed against a defendant in a single case, the court must certify them as an official class. There are many requirements in order for a class to be certified, but one commonly argued issue is whether the injuries are similar.