While the United States becomes more of a “pill-popping” culture, the incidence of pharmaceutical errors is on the rise. Many pharmaceutical errors are just simple mix-ups, but these mix-ups can be dangerous and deadly.
Doctors are prescribing more medicines as the rate of treatment outside of hospitals increases and the number of new drugs being introduced to the market is on the rise. These drugs have confusing and nearly unpronounceable scientific names that can easily be mixed up. In some cases a mix-up does not harm the patient, but in others, especially when the patient is elderly or an expectant mother, the mix-up can result in extreme harm or even death.
Doctors prescribe medicine for nearly everything, so it is not uncommon for someone to end up on medications that interact with each other in dangerous ways. Your doctor or your pharmacy should know and check the medications you are taking to make sure that new prescriptions do not interfere with any drugs you are currently taking. The internet offers drug interaction tools that are easy to use; also, any pharmacist should be able to double check and make sure that you are not taking medicines that will interfere with one another.
Accidents happen, but you should not simply accept being a victim if you have been on the receiving end of a pharmaceutical error. Jack Leader, partner with Elrod Pope Law firm, has years of experience working with these types of cases and is available for a no-cost consultation. Pharmaceutical errors can be difficult, trying, and life changing; we understand that and are here to help. If you believe you have been a victim of a pharmaceutical error, please do not hesitate to contact Elrod Pope Law Firm.
The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Caleb Johnson and Amanda Dotter for contributions to this paper.
