Houston Pharmaceutical Malpractice Lawyer

Roberts Markland LLP provides legal representation for people injured by pharmacy malpractice in Houston, TX. Call today for a free consultation and case review from a reliable attorney.

Whenever you go to the pharmacy to fill a prescription, you are entrusting the pharmacist with your life. Although pharmacy malpractice is rare, if you have been injured by a mistake made by a pharmacist, it’s important to find a Houston pharmaceutical malpractice lawyer who has experience handling such cases. You deserve to work with a lawyer who listens to your story and helps you get the compensation you’re entitled to for your injury.

How Common is Pharmacy Malpractice?

The Institute of Medicine attributes several thousand deaths annually to medication-related errors, with over 1.5 million people harmed by preventable errors in some way. Indeed, medication errors are the most common type of error in the health care setting. A national observational study found an error rate of 1.7 percent in the community pharmacies it observed. This percentage may seem negligible until one considers that three billion prescriptions are filled in the United States each year, so this 1.7 percent error rate translates to 50 million prescriptions dispensed incorrectly.

Types of Pharmacy Malpractice

Pharmacy malpractice entails more than simply giving patients the wrong medication. A personal injury lawyer can provide you with legal representation in the following situations:

• Incorrect prescription preparation can happen when medications are not compounded correctly.
• Drug interactions, caused when a patient is prescribed a medication that is contraindicated with another prescription or over-the-counter medication he or she is currently taking.
• Overuse and underuse, which could fail to treat the condition at best, and at worst, cause a fatal overdose.
• Failure to receive drug warnings, either through individual counsel with a pharmacist or in the form of written instructions and cautions included with a medication.
• Incorrect dosage or treatment duration, which can have serious health consequences for the patient.
• Dispensing the wrong medication, perhaps the most serious form of pharmacy malpractice.

Negligence vs. Pharmacy Malpractice

An experienced Houston lawyer can discern whether a case is pharmacy malpractice or negligence. A pharmacist commits malpractice when he or she breaches a recognized standard of care with a patient and this breach causes the patient harm. When a pharmacist is negligent, he or she has failed to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in similar circumstances; it is a matter of carelessness.

Both pharmacy malpractice and negligence necessitate a competent attorney who can file your case with a civil court. The criteria for proving a case includes showing that the pharmacist had a duty that was breached, that there were damages to the patient, and that the pharmacy caused these damages.

What Should I Expect When Meeting With An Attorney?

During your initial meeting with a personal injury attorney in Houston, Texas, you will go over the validity of your case and the steps involved in taking legal action. Whatever you do, do not discuss your case with the opposing side without being represented by a lawyer.

If you’re ready to move forward with your pharmacy malpractice claim, we’re here to help. Contact Roberts Markland LLP today for a free case review and consultation.