Prescription drug mistakes can cause wrongful death

Anneke Kurt

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

Patients taking prescription drugs should watch out for more than just side effects. More and more patients have been given the wrong prescriptions at the pharmacy even though doctors have prescribed the correct drug in the doctor's office. These prescription mistakes are seen by our Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorneys and could result in personal injury or wrongful death.

Approximately 30 million out of every 3 billion prescriptions are dispensed incorrectly, according to the National Patient Safety Foundation. While some of these mistakes are easily caught and don't cause much harm to the patient, others can cause serious personal injury. Recently, a pregnant woman from St. Louis, Missouri was given a chemotherapy drug used to treat Hodgkin's disease at the local Walgreens pharmacy, when it was prenatal vitamins that her doctor had prescribed, according to CNN.com. The woman miscarried due to complications from the wrong medication.

When picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy, don't be afraid to ask the pharmacist questions. Know the exact name of the drug you were prescribed, and double check the bottle before leaving the store. Opening up the bottle and showing the pharmacist the medication is a good way to check twice to make sure you received the proper drug, and always follow the directions of the doctors, pharmacists and dosage instructions, once you have made sure that it is the correct medication.