Medical Malpractice and Administering the Wrong Medication

Dec 22, 2022

When we entrust our health and well-being to medical professionals, whether physicians, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, hospital employees, or pharmacists, we do so with the expectation that they will perform their job duties to a reasonable standard. No professional, medical or otherwise, should be expected to exceed this reasonable standard at all times; however, they should be expected never to fall below it. If they do, and an injury or death results, they can be held liable under the subset of tort law known as medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice lawsuits arise from injuries caused by the negligence of medical professionals. Negligence occurs when a medical professional fails to act as a peer in the same position would reasonably be expected to act under the exact same circumstances. One of the most common grounds for medical malpractice lawsuits is the administration of the wrong medication.

When it comes to litigating claims involving medical malpractice and administering the wrong medication, Houston, TX personal injury attorney Shane R. Kadlec has the skills, resources, and experience to handle even the most complex cases successfully. If you or a member of your family has been harmed by medical malpractice caused by the dispensing of the incorrect medication, or if you have lost a family member due to such an act of medical negligence, we urge you to contact the Law Office of Shane R. Kadlec to arrange for an evaluation of your case today.

Ways in Which the Wrong Medication Can Be Administered

There are a number of ways in which the wrong medication can be administered to a patient by a medical professional, all of which are ultimately avoidable. These include:

The prescription of the wrong medication for a given condition: A physician may prescribe a certain medication for a given condition when medical literature indicates that a different medication should be prescribed for that condition.
The pharmacist provides the wrong medication: Although electronic prescriptions have helped to reduce errors based on the misreading of doctors’ poor penmanship, pharmacists can still fill prescriptions incorrectly, providing a different medication from the one prescribed.
Mislabeling of medication: The incorrect medication may be administered in a hospital setting due to the mislabeling of medications. Proper labeling of medication is extremely important and is the responsibility of the hospital and its staff. Mislabeling can also occur in pharmacies or as a result of labeling errors on the part of the manufacturer of a medication.
The administration of the correct medication to the incorrect patient: If one patient’s files are confused with another’s in a hospital setting, a patient may receive medication intended for another patient.
Prescription of the wrong medication based on a misdiagnosis: If a doctor misdiagnoses a condition that he or she should reasonably have been expected to diagnose properly, and he or she prescribes medication based on that diagnosis, he or she may be held liable for any injuries caused to the patient as a result.