Incorrect Dose

When it comes to medication, it’s not just the substance itself that matters. If a medical professional gives you the right medication but gives you either too much or too little, you could suffer life-changing or life-threatening complications.

Wrong dose errors are preventable, so if you suffer an injury or complication because of a wrong dose, you may want to contact Flaxman Law Group. In a free consultation with a Florida medical malpractice lawyer, you can discuss whether you have a claim. Our offices in Hollywood, Miami, and Homestead happily serve the entire region of South Florida.

Whenever any medial professional, medical facility, or pharmacy gives you either too much or too little of the medication you need, your wellbeing is in danger. There are many situations where this can happen:

• A medical professional intentionally gives you the wrong dosage. This can occur in cases of nursing home abuse, for example, where residents are given larger doses of sedatives, so they remain in bed and require less work for the staff.
• A communication error is made. This can occur if a pharmacist misreads a prescription, for example, or a medical provider fails to update a new medication dosage.
• There is a pharmacy error. In some cases, a pharmacy may receive the right information, but a staff member may fail to fill the prescription correctly, using a higher dosage of medication. In some cases, different patients’ medication is switched or mixed up because of pharmacy negligence, leading to the incorrect dose for both.
• You’re given the wrong information. For example, maybe the instructions on your medication say to take one pill twice a day when in fact the correct dosage should be one pill, once a day. You end up taking twice the dose you should.
• A medical professional fails to check dosages. Perhaps you’re seeing a new doctor and need to get a prescription renewed. Or maybe you’re in the hospital and the staff need to administer your usual medication. In these cases, it’s important for the medical professionals involved to verify the dosage to make sure you get your correct medication. When they fail to do so, you could experience serious complications.
• A human error happens. For example, when a patient is undergoing major surgery, the anesthesiologist is responsible for making sure the right dose of anaesthesia gets administered. If this medical professional makes an error through inattention or distraction, the patient’s life could be at risk.
• A patient’s history and physical traits aren’t considered. Depending on the medication, a medical professional may need to consider a patient’s height and weight, medical history, past allergic reactions, any medication they are taking (that could pose a drug reaction risk), and other factors to make sure the medication is the right dose for that specific patient.
• Poor record keeping leads to medication errors. A patient’s responses to a medication may not be monitored when medical professionals are negligent. In a hospital, dosage errors can also happen if a careful record of past administration of a medication isn’t kept.

Emergency rooms, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, dentist’s offices, and other medical settings are expected to have strict protocols in place to make sure you get your correct medication, in the right dose. Wrong doses are considered a preventable injury, so if this happens to you, you may have a claim.

Of course, in this situation your first priority is your health. If you experience any unusual symptoms after taking a medication—even a medication you’ve been taking for a long time—immediately alert your doctor or pharmacist. They can check your dose and offer advice. If you’re having a serious reaction, such as difficulty breathing, call 911 for immediate treatment.

In addition to calling for medical help, you may want to consult with a Florida medical malpractice claims attorney in your city soon after your medical incident. For example, you can always contact Flaxman Law Group, a family-based law firm with offices in Miami, Homestead, and Hollywood. We have more than 60 years of combined experience. Find out whether you have a claim by contacting the Flaxman Law Group or calling us at 866-352-9626 for a free consultation with a Florida accident lawyer.