When errors are made at the pharmacy, there is the potential of causing serious damage. Prescription medications are designed to improve our health, and when errors occur, they can have a profound impact on victims’ lives.
If a pharmacy error caused you an injury, turn to the skilled legal guidance of an experienced medical malpractice attorney. Contact a Katy pharmacy malpractice lawyer at KGS Law PLLC today.
Is It Medical Malpractice?
Not every mistake a pharmacist makes is medical malpractice under Texas law. Any medical professional can make a mistake, but not all errors qualify as medical malpractice.
The deciding factor of medical malpractice is the professional standard of care that applies. This refers to what the pharmacist’s professional peers would have done under similar circumstances.
If the pharmacist employed the same level of care that other pharmacists with the same level of training would have, the error is not likely to be classified as medical malpractice. If, however, they did something their peers would not have or failed to do something their peers would have, it bolsters your medical malpractice claim. A Katy pharmacy negligence attorney could help determine if your claim qualifies as medical malpractice.
Building a Pharmacy Malpractice Claim
To build a pharmacy malpractice claim, you will need to prove that you were owed a duty of care by the pharmacy professional, which is established by the fact that you were filling a prescription for medication at the pharmacy. Then, you must show that the pharmacist breached this duty of care. This means they did not live up to the standard of care imposed on their profession, and you suffered losses as a result. Our Katy attorneys have experience building pharmacy malpractice claims and could help build yours.
Identifying Your Losses
One aspect that your attorney may review in your Katy pharmacy medical malpractice claim is identifying your covered losses, or damages. These are grouped into basic categories that include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Medical Expenses
If the pharmacy error made you sick, caused you to suffer physical or emotional harm, or intensified the condition for which the medication was prescribed, medical bills will be central to your claim. The more serious the error, the more likely these bills are to be ongoing.
Lost Income
If the harm caused by the pharmacy error prevents you from working, you may experience lost income. If your ability to earn in the future is affected, this category of loss can be immense.
Pain and Suffering
If you experienced physical pain and suffering as a result of the pharmacy error, it should be addressed in your claim. The same is true of any emotional pain and suffering you endure. These losses can amplify your other damages and can exceed them.
You may be able to recover multiple types of damages depending on the severity of your injury.
Common Pharmacy Errors
While no two pharmacy malpractice claims are alike, the most common underlying errors relate to how the drugs are dispensed, and a Katy attorney could help you determine how your injury occurred. Dispensing errors include:
- Dispensing the wrong drug
- Dispensing the wrong dosage of the drug
- Dispensing the drug without adequate instructions
- Dispensing the drug in the wrong form for delivery
- Dispensing the drug without the necessary warning labels
- Dispensing the drug with the wrong label, an incorrect label, or a label that is too vague
If you are unsure if medical malpractice occurred, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with us today.
Why Pharmacy Errors Happen
Like other errors, mistakes made by pharmacists tend to be caused by human error. Pharmacists are not required to be perfect. They are, however, required to uphold the safety standards accepted by their profession.
Errors that are based on issues such as being fatigued, distracted, or rushed can signal that the pharmacist did not take their responsibility to customer safety seriously enough. Our Katy malpractice lawyers have experience tracing the true cause of pharmacy errors and could help with your claim.
Contact a Katy Pharmacy Malpractice Attorney Today
If a mistake made at a pharmacy harms you or someone you care about, a Katy pharmacy malpractice lawyer at KGS Law PLLC is well prepared to implement the full force of our skill and legal insight in pursuit of an optimal claim outcome on your behalf. Your health and well-being are too important to gamble. For more information about what we could do to help you, please do not hesitate to contact us online or call our firm today.