Pharmacy Malpractice Lawyers

The public relies on pharmacies to accurately dispense medication. Unfortunately, pharmacists can provide incorrect dosages, make label mistakes, and even provide the incorrect medication. These errors can lead to serious injures or even death.

In a study conducted by Pharmacist Mutual Insurance Company, the following types of errors were identified: wrong drug dispensed - 52%, wrong strength dispensed - 27%, wrong directions given - 7.4%, for a total of 86.4% of errors that could have been prevented. There have been some cases in which pharmacists have intentionally reduced or increased the strength of the active ingredient in medications.

Our office handles pharmacy malpractice claims. Aside from the obvious issue of whether or not the prescription was accurately filled, we look into whether the pharmacy had adequate staffing and whether or not there was an appropriate support system to ensure that prescriptions were double checked by another individual to ensure accuracy. It is well established that many dispensing errors can be caused by stress, distraction, insufficient staff, or lack of backup.

Over 1.3 million people are injured each year due to medication errors. These problems have cost over $29 billion per year and have been as high as $72 billion in the past. Nearly 100,000 people have been alleged to die each year due to medication mistakes.

The encouraging news is that some pharmacies have recognized the problem and have employed such techniques as unannounced inspections and other monitoring methods to examine how stores fill and dispense prescriptions. Unfortunately, mistakes will still occur at the pharmacy and therefore the pharmacies must be held accountable. If you feel you have a case in California, please do not hesitate to contact our office.