Our Montana and Wyoming Pharmacy Malpractice Attorneys Helps Patients Who Suffer From Pharmaceutical Negligence

Medical healthcare consists of multiple disciplines. Patients deserve comprehensive healthcare and treatment and managing all of the components of a patient’s medical care can be complex. One area of healthcare that must be handled with precision and care is pharmaceutical care. With such a serious violation of standards of medical care, pharmacies who have engaged in pharmaceutical malpractice need to be held accountable for their actions. A Montana and Wyoming pharmacy malpractice attorney can pursue appropriate legal action to help patients who suffer from pharmaceutical malpractice.

Pharmacists are entrusted to administer medication and treatments as prescribed by medical providers. There is a significant responsibility to ensure the proper medications and dosages are administered with appropriate instructions and warnings clearly communicated to patients by the pharmacy. When a pharmacy or pharmacist is negligent or commits malpractice, patients are at risk for serious health consequences, including wrongful death.

We are committed to focusing on our clients and their needs. We partner with our clients and take on their legal problems as our own. So reach out to us about your pharmacy malpractice case and start your road to recovery with Ragain & Clark today.

Eligibility for a Pharmacy Malpractice Claim

Pharmacy malpractice can be difficult to prove, making it all the more crucial that you seek experienced legal representation to hold pharmacies and pharmacists responsible for their negligent actions. Ragain & Clark has over 40 years of trial experience and can take your pharmacy malpractice case to trial.

There are numerous actions connected with prescribing or administering medication that have the potential to cause patient harm. The following are examples of errors that can give rise to a claim of pharmaceutical malpractice.

Prescribing or administering the wrong dose of a medication
Administering the wrong drug to the patient
Failure to take patient’s history before prescribing medication
Failure to explain the risks associated with a medication to a patient
Failure to consider the complications and dangers that could occur when mixing medications

Injuries from Pharmaceutical Malpractice

The adverse medical effects and injuries from pharmaceutical malpractice are extensive. Some of the consequences of pharmaceutical malpractice include:

Heart attack
Seizures
Overdose
Internal bleeding
Organ damage
Coma
Brain damage
Death

Due to the serious nature of these consequences, as well as the duty pharmacies owe their patients as partners in healthcare, the repercussions for pharmacy malpractice must be severe. A Wyoming pharmacy malpractice attorney can help you pursue satisfaction for the injuries suffered due to pharmaceutical malpractice.

Allergic Reactions and Drug Interactions

A patient may be allergic to certain medications or ingredients used to make a medication. A patient’s medical records should reflect any known allergies. This should alert both physicians and pharmacists as to what medications should be avoided to reduce the risk of an allergic reaction in a patient.

Pharmacists are tasked with understanding drug interactions and preventing a patient from being prescribed and given a combination of medications that can cause harm. This is part of a pharmacist's education. Certain medications, when combined, can have adverse effects. These can range from mild discomfort and side effects to negating the efficacy of one or more of the medications, to serious injuries or even death.

Pursuing a Pharmaceutical Malpractice Case

A CDC study showed nearly 50% of people in the United States used at least one prescription drug in a 30-day period. With this volume of prescription drug use, there absolutely needs to be policies, procedures, and safeguards in place to protect patients from pharmaceutical errors that could cause serious harm. Holding pharmacies to high healthcare standards and pursuing legal remedies protects patients to ensure proper safeguards are in place and followed by pharmacies. Ragain & Clark will pursue your pharmacy malpractice case to the fullest extent possible. In addition to damages related specifically to your case, victims of pharmacy malpractice can be awarded punitive damages to deter a disregard for the standard of care required of pharmacists and pharmacies.

Instances Where a Pharmacist Can be Held Liable

As your lawyer can attest, there is no one-size-fits-all reason that medication errors occur. Whether the at-fault party was the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist, the causes of medication errors are varied. Some examples are:

The medical practitioner was not properly trained
The medical practitioner was ineffective in communicating to the patient
The medical practitioner lacked the necessary experience or knowledge regarding the medication
A lack of established procedures and protocols or a failure to properly follow established procedures
The medical practitioner became distracted while ordering, filling, or administering the medication
There were errors in the labeling and/or packaging of the medication
The medical provider relied on inaccurate patient records
The patient was not monitored properly

Evidence Needed to Establish Your Claim

It can be difficult to prove a pharmacy malpractice case. If you suspect that you have suffered from pharmacy malpractice, you should contact a Montana or Wyoming pharmacy malpractice attorney as soon as possible so evidence can be collected quickly and preserved for your case. Examples of evidence for a pharmacy malpractice case include printed instructions on medication, warning labels on medication, and pharmacy procedures and policies.

Printed instructions for the medication include dosage instructions such as:

The correct quantity
The proper timing
Whether the medication should be taken along with food or water
Whether the medication needs to be taken on an empty stomach
When to contact a doctor if you experience problems while taking the medication

Warning labels given with the medication are intended to promote safe medication consumption and habits and include warnings such as:

The medication may cause side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, or other side effects that put the patient or others at risk
Caution to avoid taking medication too close in time to other medications
Potential interactions with other medications or supplements that should not be taken together at all
Allergy warnings related to the ingredients used in the medication
Warnings to avoid certain activities, including operating heavy machinery or driving due to side effect risks
Warnings to avoid taking a medication if you have certain conditions that could be made worse by consuming that medication

Other information that is now being included on medication labels is a description of the medication, such as pill shape, color, and markings or lettering on the pill itself. This is designed to reduce the chance of a patient being dispensed and consuming incorrect medication. If you notice your dispensed medication does not match the description, you should alert your health care provider right away to help avoid harm.

Pharmacy policies and procedures are another important part of a pharmacy malpractice case. Not including these instructions and warnings can be detrimental to a patient’s well-being.

If your pharmacy was negligent in your medication administration, you want to be able to prove it so you can get the compensation you deserve. Your Wyoming or Montana pharmacy malpractice attorney will examine the policies and procedures in place at the pharmacy and investigate whether these safety procedures were followed both as a matter of practice and in regards to your specific case.

Contact a Pharmacy Malpractice Attorney at Ragain and Clark

If you or a loved one have suffered due to a pharmacy’s negligence or malpractice, you need to contact a Wyoming pharmacy malpractice attorney. You can discuss your case with Ragain & Clark by calling 307-388-6400 or contacting us online. We also have a convenient office location in Montana.