What Constitutes Pharmacy Negligence
Pharmacists are licensed healthcare professionals who have a legal duty to ensure that the medications they dispense are safe and appropriate for each patient. When a pharmacy or pharmacist fails to meet the accepted standard of care, and a patient is harmed as a result, the pharmacy may be held liable for negligence.
Pharmacy negligence can take many forms, ranging from simple dispensing mistakes to systemic failures in quality control. In Florida, pharmacies are held to the same professional standards as other healthcare providers, and patients who are injured by pharmacy errors have the right to seek compensation.
Common Pharmacy Errors
Pharmacy errors are alarmingly common and can have devastating consequences for patients who rely on their pharmacist to provide safe, accurate prescriptions. The most frequent types of pharmacy errors include:
- Wrong drug dispensed: Providing a medication different from what the doctor prescribed, often due to similar drug names or packaging
- Wrong dose: Filling a prescription with an incorrect strength or quantity of medication
- Failure to check for drug interactions: Neglecting to review a patient's medication history for potentially dangerous combinations
- Mislabeling: Attaching incorrect labels with wrong dosage instructions, patient names, or drug information
- Failure to verify allergies: Dispensing a medication to which the patient has a known allergy
- Ignoring contraindications: Failing to flag medications that are unsafe given a patient's medical conditions
- Contaminated or expired medications: Dispensing drugs that are past their expiration date or improperly stored
Pharmacy Duty of Care
Under Florida law, pharmacists owe a duty of care to every patient they serve. This duty extends beyond simply filling prescriptions accurately. Pharmacists are expected to use their professional knowledge to protect patients from foreseeable harm.
The pharmacy duty of care includes:
- Accurately filling prescriptions as written by the prescribing physician
- Reviewing patient profiles for allergies, drug interactions, and contraindications
- Providing appropriate counseling to patients about their medications
- Contacting the prescribing physician when a prescription appears to contain errors
- Maintaining proper storage conditions for all medications
When a pharmacy breaches this duty of care and a patient suffers harm, the pharmacy, the individual pharmacist, and potentially the pharmacy chain can all be held liable for damages.
Pursuing a Pharmacy Negligence Claim
Pharmacy negligence claims require proving that the pharmacist or pharmacy failed to meet the accepted standard of care, and that this failure directly caused the patient's injuries. At Roselli & McNelis, our attorneys work with pharmaceutical experts and medical professionals to establish the link between the pharmacy's error and your injuries.
Compensation in pharmacy negligence cases may include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and in cases involving death, wrongful death damages. Florida's statute of limitations places time limits on filing these claims, so prompt action is essential.
If you believe you or a family member has been harmed by a pharmacy error, contact our office for a free consultation. Our trial attorneys will evaluate your case and explain your legal options at no cost or obligation.