Whether or not you have a case depends on the facts of your situation. Since every case is different, it would be difficult to make a comprehensive list of all the circumstances that prove you have a case. A big consideration in malpractice cases is how severely injured the patient was as a result of the mistake.
I Never Took The Medication
Personal injury cases are all about the injury. If you caught a mistake before you were injured by negligence, you probably don’t have a case. Even though the pharmacy made a mistake, you weren’t damaged by it, so you probably can’t sue for damages that never existed.
Even though you weren’t injured, it would be a good idea to make the provider aware of the error so that it doesn’t happen again to a less observant patient. If the provider brushes you off or doesn’t treat their error as a big deal, speak to their manager or an administrator if they work at a hospital.
I Took The Medication And Experienced Mild Side-Effects
This depends on how severe the side effects were and how long they lasted. A few days of feeling funny is probably not enough in damages to justify a lawsuit. If you had to take a significant amount of time off work for your recovery or if you have to go to the hospital for a long period of time, it’s possible that you have a case. You might want to consider consulting a personal injury attorney if your damages were severe.
I Was Harmed After Taking The Wrong Medication
This is a situation that would possibly warrant pursuing a personal injury case, presuming that someone was severely injured as a result of the pharmacy’s negligence. As a result of this experience, the victim would likely have incurred a lot of damages that they wouldn’t have had to deal with if they had been given the correct medication:
- You possibly had to go to the emergency room, and you might have had an extensive stay in a hospital or nursing home as you recovered.
- Your organs may have been damaged because the pill interacted with another medication or was the wrong dose for you.
- You experienced pain that you wouldn’t have felt if you received the proper medication.
- You might have long-lasting, even permanent, effects on your body that will change your life forever. You might have difficulty walking, talking, seeing, holding objects, or performing any other function of your daily life.
- You might have had to take a long time off work to recover. It’s possible that you can’t return to your previous occupation because of your injuries.
- You might have to pay for ongoing care that you wouldn’t otherwise need, like a home nurse or a walker or wheelchair.
- You might need surgery in the future to deal with the damage caused by the medication.
If you need to file a lawsuit, be aware that medical malpractice cases are very difficult for patients to navigate by themselves. Determining whether malpractice has occurred is not only a very particular field of law, but a very particular field of medicine. A personal injury attorney who has experience with malpractice lawsuits would likely be able to help you collect and present the evidence that you were damaged as a result of a medical provider’s carelessness.
