Your Legal Rights as a Victim of Medication Error

Medication error is a form of medical malpractice that causes serious injury and death to an alarming number of victims in the United States each year. The Law Office of Kenneth N. Margolin, P.C. is dedicated to helping the victims of medication errors in the State of Massachusetts. Our lawyers have experience handling all types of medication cases, including prescription errors, drug interaction mistakes, anesthesia errors, and all medication related cases. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed due to an error in medication or anesthesia, contact the Law Office of Kenneth N. Margolin, P.C. today to learn about your legal rights.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT THAT YOU OR A LOVED ONE HAVE BEEN HARMED BY A MEDICATION ERROR

How do you know if you have been harmed by a medication error?

• Although hospitals are required by law to report all medication errors, they do not always comply.
• Even if the hospital reports the medication error, as required by law, the report is completely confidential – the patient does not receive the report and is not even told it has been filed.
• Unfortunately, a patient or his or her parent or spouse, may never be told that their injuries were caused by a medication error, even if the hospital knows about it and has filed a confidential report.

What steps should I take to protect my legal rights?

• The most important step you can take is to contact an attorney right away if you or a loved one has suffered unexpected serious injury in a hospital, even if you are unsure of the cause.
• If a medication error occurred, the evidence will usually be found on doctors’ order sheets, medication logs, or anesthesia charts, not obvious to most patients.
• The sooner medical records can be obtained and analyzed, the less the chance that vital records will be “lost” by the hospital, or altered – although it is illegal, destruction and altering of medical records to cover up medical negligence, does occur.

What are my legal rights if I or a loved one has been harmed by a medication error?

• Medication errors are a form of medical malpractice or professional negligence.
• In order to recover money damages because of a medication error, you must be able to prove 3 elements:
  1. the health care professional(s) who were negligent owed you a duty to exercise reasonable care – this is usually easy to prove.
  2. the health care professional(s) were negligent in their treatment, meaning that they did not perform in accordance with “acceptable standards” of medical or pharmacological practice.
  3. the negligence caused injury.
• The amount of money that you may recover will be affected by a number of factors, including the severity of the negligence (would it be shocking to most people), the health of the person before the negligence, the strength of any defense, the severity and permanency of the injuries.
• In Massachusetts, the right to bring a medical malpractice or professional negligence case, may be lost forever, usually within 3 years after the negligence occurred or should have been discovered by the patient (the rules are somewhat different for minors).
• The best advice is to seek legal counsel immediately if you or a loved one have suffered unexpected harm in a hospital or due to medical care.
  

Our firm is dedicated to protecting the rights of Massachusetts medical error victims who have suffered due to pharmaceutical and medical mistakes. If you or a loved has been a victim of prescription drug error resulting in injury or death, you may be able to file a claim against the doctor, hospital or pharmacy to recover damages for expenses and suffering. Contact a Massachusetts medication error lawyer at the Law Office of Kenneth N. Margolin, P.C. today for your free initial case review.

If you have been the victim of a Massachusetts medication error, you need the legal representation of a committed medication error attorney.