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When Mislabeling of Medications Causes Injury or Death
Labeling serves a crucial purpose, especially on bottles, vials and containers of medications. The information on the label describes the product and indicates the proper dosage, how often the drug is to be taken and any interactions the medicine might have that could injure the patient. In fact, the patient could suffer irreparable harm or death if the container of medicine is mislabeled.
There has been a significant increase in the numbers of compound pharmacies in recent years that have begun doing business in Illinois, producing and dispensing small batches of pharmaceutical medications. Some of these compound pharmacies are located outside of the state, and ship drugs throughout the country.
The lives of patients are often in the hands of the pharmacy, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians that fill and dispense prescription medications. One small error where the drug is misidentified or the directions stated on the bottle are wrong can threaten the life, health and well-being of the patient.
Common Mislabeling Errors Committed at Pharmacies
Mislabeling a bottle of prescribed medication often involves improper usage directions, misidentification of the medicine, insufficient or invalid warnings, or the wrong dosage associated with the medicine the bottle contains. Common mislabeling errors include:
- Dispensing the Wrong Drug – The patient can suffer serious consequences if the pharmacist or pharmacy technician prepares the right medication for one patient but places it in a container labeled for another. Other dispensing problems include preparing multiple medications at once for a single patient and placing each drug in the wrong container, causing the individual to take the drug at the wrong dosage, wrong time or for the wrong reason.
- Overdosing Error – Any mislabeling mistake of prescription medications can lead to overdosing, where the patient takes the drug at too strong a dosage causing harm, injury or death. Overdosing errors are a common problem that compounding pharmacies that produce small batches of medications and calculate the dosage wrong.
- Under-Dosing Error – While overdosing errors can be a significant life-threatening problem, so can under-dosing mistakes. In many situations, the patient has specific health needs that require specific doses of medication to provide therapeutic results that could save their life, treat their condition or bolster the benefits of other medications taken. Under-dosing can eliminate health benefits and create serious life-threatening consequences.
- Poisoning and Toxicity Exposure – At some dosage strengths, nearly every prescription medication can be poisonous or toxic. If the label on the drug is mislabeled and the patient takes too high a dosage, the outcome can be catastrophic. Poisoning and toxicity exposure can cause serious organ damage, renal failure, heart attacks, liver failure or death.
- Mislabeling-Associated Death – The potential of the patient dying from taking a mislabeled prescription medication is high. This is especially true if the label misidentifies the drug, misstates usage directions, indicates the wrong dosage or includes erroneous or misleading directions.
Other problems include pharmacies that do not add the brand name on the label when dispensing generic drugs to the patient or abbreviating the medication name that can lead to confusion.
When an Injury or Fatality Occurs Due to Drug Mislabeling
Individuals suffering serious injuries or death due to mislabeling of medications are a very common problem. When individuals receive drugs filled at pharmacies they rely on the pharmacists to guarantee that the right drug is in the container and that it is dosed properly with accurate directions on how to properly use the medication.
Any misstep in the labeling of a medication can cause tragic consequences. When any mislabeling of medications causes significant harm or death to the patient, the victim or surviving family members have the legal right to seek financial compensation.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are experienced in handling Chicago pharmacy mislabeling error claims for compensation. Our legal team has extensive resources including access to the best investigators and medical experts that can prove how labeling negligence caused injury or death. Our attorneys serve as legal advocates to our clients seeking justice and the financial compensation they deserve.
