Were you given the wrong medication? What should you do?
Imagine that you get sick and go to the doctor, who prescribes a specific medication to treat your ailment. Upon arriving at the pharmacy, you request the prescribed medication, however, the person in charge makes a mistake and gives you the wrong medicine, causing you to have an adverse reaction and worsening your health.
What can you do? Keep reading.
What happens if you consume medication by mistake?
Many times we are not prepared for these types of situations, however, it is important to consider some actions in case we find ourselves in these circumstances.
The first thing to do, without a doubt, is that if you have any type of reaction to the medication, you must seek immediate medical assistance, calling 911 or contacting your doctor.
Why does this happen?
According to certain medical situation control agencies in the United States, this type of error by doctors or pharmaceutical companies has been on the rise.
Medications in the United States are labeled with their name, but errors can occur that could be complicated or even fatal to health. That is why the first thing to always do is to carefully review the names and match the medicine and dose indicated in the doctor’s prescription.
However, errors can also occur during the consultation. If the treating physician prescribes the wrong medication or an inappropriate dose, it is considered negligence and a compensation case can be presented.
Now, if the incident is rather from the pharmacist, who gives you the wrong medication (and you don’t notice), or confuses the dose indicated by the doctor, they must take responsibility for their action.
Errors are human and can occur under various circumstances, such as excessive workload, understaffing, or simply lack of experience. In any case, if the pharmacist or doctor realizes the error, they are responsible for notifying you and must immediately contact you not to ingest the medicine.
If you were not informed and consumed the wrong medication, the guilty party must face the consequences. You have the right to demand compensation that covers medical expenses, hospitalization, disability, loss of income, or even pain and suffering.
What should you do?
It is important that if such a situation arises, you seek a lawyer with experience in medication error negligence, who can represent you so that you have a prompt and equitable solution.
If you or someone close has any type of adverse situation with medications and a medical consequence, you can request a free consultation with us at Abogados Centro Legal.
