Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes. Sometimes they are honest mistakes. Other times, they are avoidable. We certainly don’t expect regulated professionals to make mistakes, but they do. It happens.
But, when a pharmacist makes an error, it can be deadly or result in very serious health consequences.
When a pharmacist makes an error in the dispensing of medication, this is called a dispensing error case. And our law firm, Goldfinger Injury Lawyers has handled countless dispensing error cases throughout the years. Here are some common types of dispensing error cases we have seen.
The Right Medication, but the Wrong Dosage
In these cases, the pharmacists gets the medication correct, but dispenses the incorrect dosage. Too little of the medication often times doesn’t cause much harm (but it can). Take the example of a seizure medication or an anti-nausea medication. Too little won’t have the desired effect. Too much of a certain medication can have deadly consequences. Most common in these cases are the dispensing of methadone. A doctor may prescible a 10mg dosage, but the pharmacist accidentally dispenses 100mg of methadone. Too much methadone can result in seizures, stopping to breath, muscle damage and other issues. Naloxone is a medication which quickly reverses the effect of an opioid like methadone. If you don’t get a Naloxone injection quickly after the overdose, or you aren’t taken to hospital quickly, the overdose can have life long consequences.