Patients seeking medical attention place their trust in doctors’ and healthcare professionals’ knowledge to help treat their symptoms. However, even a single error made by a doctor when prescribing medication can lead to major health issues for their patients.
If you have been injured due to a healthcare practitioner’s actions when prescribing medicine, a Columbia medication error lawyer could help you recover. Schedule a consultation with a medical malpractice attorney today to discuss your case.
Types of Medication Errors
Medication errors can involve different breaches in a healthcare professional’s appropriate standard of care when prescribing or fulfilling a prescription, including the following:
- Prescribing too large or too small a dose
- Failure to warn about harmful side effects
- Failure to warn about dangerous interactions with other drugs
- Prescribing the wrong type of drug
- Providing misinformation that risks the patient’s safe use of a drug
- Failure to respond to a patient reporting adverse side effects
- Failure to consider a patient’s medical history and pre-existing conditions, such as pregnancy
In addition to doctors, a patient could receive a prescription from a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or mental health care professional. A Columbia lawyer could review your case and help identify the party at fault for a medication error.
When Medication Errors Amount to Malpractice
If you have experienced adverse health issues as a result of a medication error, you could have a valid medical malpractice claim. Columbia healthcare professionals are liable for malpractice when their actions do not adhere to the standard of a reasonable medical practitioner, pursuant to South Carolina Code Annotated § 15-79-110.
In addition to violating the appropriate standard of medical care, the doctor’s alleged malpractice must proximately cause their patient’s injuries. State law allows you to recover money damages when you can prove malpractice.
Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-32-210, economic damages include compensation for the following:
- Hospitals bills
- Medical expenses
- Loss of wages
- Lost employment opportunities
Similarly, noneconomic damages can cover:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium with a spouse
While the state generally does not cap damages, noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims are capped. However, these caps vary each year. An attorney can help you determine which forms of compensation are available in your case.
Filing Requirements For Malpractice Claims Involving Medication Errors
The state has various procedural protocols to follow before filing a medical malpractice claim for medication errors.
First, you must provide the allegedly at-fault party with a notice of intent to file suit, pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-79-125. The notice must provide factual details about why you are entitled to monetary damages.
Secondly, you must mediate with the allegedly at-fault party within 90 to 120 days of serving the notice of intent. You also need an affidavit from a medical expert witness to file with the complaint, pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-36-100. They must be qualified to provide an opinion about the appropriate standard of care in your case and reference at least one breach by the allegedly at-fault medical professional.
Call to Partner With a Columbia Medication Error Attorney
If you believe a prescribing mistake by a medical professional led to harm, you should speak with a Columbia medication error lawyer immediately. You deserve to be fairly compensated for damages and losses caused by another person’s negligent or careless actions.
A Whetstone Perkins & Fulda attorney is ready to speak with you about the facts of your case. Contact us online for your initial consultation today.
