It seems like a freak occurrence when someone gets a prescription that is so wrong it damages their health. But it may be happening millions of times a year.

NEW ORLEANS, LA, UNITED STATES, August 19, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- When a patient goes to the doctor, then to the pharmacy to fill a prescription, they put trust in the process. At every step, they expect the health care system will get all their information right.

But how common are medication errors?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that it gets 100,000 official complaints about pharmacy errors each year. (https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-consumers-and-patients-drugs/working-reduce-medication-errors)

But the official complaints may be a just a fraction of the total problem.

Over the years, studies have found that the total number of harmful prescription errors by pharmacies may be much higher—over a million or even several million annually.

(Study: https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2006/07/medication-errors-injure-one-point-five-million-people-and-cost-billions-of-dollars-annually-report-offers-comprehensive-strategies-for-reducing-drug-related-mistakes)

(Report: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5016741/)

This happens more than most people might expect, and far too often by any standard.

The situation that leads to this problem, according to news reports in recent years, often includes an overworked pharmacist in an understaffed pharmacy, and trying to move too fast.

Those conditions can lead to patients getting the wrong medicines, the wrong dosages and the wrong information and directions about drugs they receive. When pharmacists face too much pressure and too little time to take care in their work, they can also miss potentially dangerous drug combinations for patients.

Patients do have legal recourse when this happens.

The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm, which serves clients in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, says people can claim various types of compensation when they are injured and their lives are disrupted by a harmful pharmacy error. Such compensation can be a central part of rebuilding a life disrupted by a medication error.

This kind of case requires an understanding of both personal injury law and medical issues, which are the focus of the pharmacy error lawyers at Bowling Christiansen.

More from Bowling Christiansen Law Firm.

Zachary Christiansen
The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm
+1 (504) 586-5200
email us here

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.