Physicians should be extremely careful when prescribing and administering medication. Considering that medicine is administered in almost all of medical procedures and even in situations where they are administered simply as long-term treatment, liability can be found if the doctor doesn’t adhere to a reasonable standard of care.
Types of Situations Where Medicine is Administered
There are varieties of injuries that a patient could suffer as the result for being administered the wrong medication:
- Anoxia
- Death
- Stroke
- Internal bleeding
- Loss of vision
- Liver damage
- Kidney damage
- Heart attacks and cardiovascular damage
Physician Error
There are a number of situations that will cause a physician to be deemed to have violated his duty of care, they are as follows:
- Lack of knowledge of the medicines properties and dangers
- Failure to determine patient’s prior medical history
- Failure to make a proper determination of the patient’s current medical condition
- Failure to use the appropriate mediation
- Failure to adequately monitor the patient as required by proper knowledge of the medicine
- Failure to inform patient of the risks associated with the medicine
- Failure to write the prescription for the correct amount
Medical Negligence and Types of Damages
Determining physician error is based on four considerations. First, the doctor’s duty to exercise reasonable care when administering the medication. Second, whether or not the doctor filed to exercise this care. Third, whether or not the patient actually suffered injury, and lastly whether the doctor was the proximate cause of the injury.
Here are the types of damages available to the patient if they can prove the above :
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental suffering and emotional distress
- Loss of time/earnings and impairment of earning capacity
- Medical expenses
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Injury related expenses
- Loss of consortium
Seek Legal Help
Having a doctor or physician that your trust is imperative. When that trust is violated as a result of a physician committing medical negligence by administering the wrong medication, it can be a devastating event. If you believe that this has happened to you, you should seek the advice of an attorney immediately. Contacting counsel will assist you in recovering damages for any injury you suffered. Make sure to never try to handle the situation yourself and hire an attorney to have at your side.
