Thanks to advancements in medical science and technology, there’s a specialized medicine to treat most illnesses and symptoms. However, prescription medications are only effective if they’re prescribed correctly with a specific patient’s needs in mind. Doctors who negligently fail to do that end up causing their patients more harm than good in the long run.
When you’ve suffered serious physical harm because your doctor or pharmacist gave you the wrong type or dosage of medicine, you may have grounds for a civil lawsuit that our experienced medical malpractice attorneys can help you pursue. With a Reading medication error lawyer on your side, you’ll be able to more effectively demand the money you deserve for your losses from every person who played a role in causing them.
Recovering for Losses Caused by Getting the Wrong Medicine
All medical professionals are expected to meet a standard of care based on what another doctor with the same skills and experience would do under the same circumstances. Prescribing the right medication in the right amounts to each patient is part of this standard of care, as is making sure that everyone involved in the patient’s treatment knows what medicine that patient is taking and how different drugs may interact in the patient’s body.
Anyone who has to seek additional medical treatment because a doctor prescribed them a drug that interacted poorly with another medication, wasn’t the correct dosage, or wasn’t the right medication for their condition can potentially demand compensation for a variety of losses, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Emotional anguish and psychological distress
- Medical bills
- Lost working ability and work wages
- Disability-related costs for things like wheelchairs
A Reading attorney can give you more specific guidance about exactly what damages you may be able to incorporate into your medication error case.
Special Rules for Malpractice Cases
Pennsylvania law requires you to have at least one qualified medical expert on your side if you want to sue a doctor, pharmacist, or anyone else over injuries caused by a medication mistake. Your drug error lawyer in Reading will need to get that qualified expert to sign off on a certificate of merit stating that, in the expert’s professional opinion, the person or people you’re trying to sue committed a breach of the applicable standard of care and you have valid grounds for a lawsuit.
You’ll also usually need to start the filing process no later than two years after first discovering that you suffered harm because of a medication error, although the applicable deadline may be different for people who suffered harm in this way while they were under the age of 18.
A Reading Medication Error Attorney Can Help
Medical errors of any kind can cause problems that are even worse than the condition you sought treatment for in the first place. Mistakes with what medication you’re given by your doctor or pharmacist are certainly no exception. You have a right to take legal action against any healthcare provider who harms you through this type of mistake.
Our Reading medication error lawyers can give you the custom-tailored assistance you need to get paid what you deserve for your damages. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to learn more.