Medication Mislabeling

Many prescription medications come with a risk of adverse side effects like allergic reactions and interactions with other substances. Therefore, any medication distributed by a pharmacy must come with a clear and accurate label. Medication mislabeling can cause critical harm, and in most cases, it is entirely preventable and merely arises out of carelessness. If you or a loved one suffered harm because an inattentive pharmacist mislabeled a medication, you could be owed damages and should seek legal counsel. The knowledgeable Baltimore pharmacy malpractice attorneys of Arfaa Law Group are adept at helping people pursue damages for the harm caused by medication labeling errors. If you hire us, we will fight tirelessly to help you seek just results.

There are numerous ways an inappropriately labeled drug can cause harm. For example, a pharmacist filling a prescription might put the wrong label on a drug, indicating that it is a different medication than what the patient is given. This is more likely to happen when multiple prescriptions are filled at once but can occur any time a pharmacist acts carelessly. In some instances, the label may contain the right name of the drug but may indicate the wrong dosage or provide incorrect information regarding how and when the drug should be taken. Similarly, a label may fail to adequately warn the patient of side effects that may occur when using the medicine or warn of adverse interactions with other substances such as alcohol. Labeling mistakes can cause unintentional overdoses, under treatment, heart attack, stroke, toxicity, and organ failure.

Victims of mislabeled medication often suffer significant injuries that are costly to treat. As such, they often seek to pursue claims against the parties responsible for their harm in pharmacy malpractice lawsuits. Usually, a plaintiff in a pharmacy malpractice lawsuit will assert a negligence claim against the defendant. Under Maryland law, negligence is comprised of four elements: a duty, a breach, damages, and causation.

In the context of a pharmacy malpractice claim, this means that the plaintiff must first prove that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to comply with the applicable standard of care, which is the care that a competent pharmacist would use under similar circumstances. Usually, a person with experience in the field of pharmacy will have to testify regarding the standard of care that applies to help the judge or jury understand the underlying issues. The breach the plaintiff must show is a deviation from the standard of care. Finally, the plaintiff must prove actual damages that were proximately caused by the breach, which means that they would not have arisen if the defendant had complied with the standard of care. This often requires expert testimony as well.

A judge or jury will typically award both economic and non-economic damages to a plaintiff that demonstrates a defendant’s liability in a pharmacy malpractice claim. Economic damages include the cost of past and future medical treatment, lost wages and loss of future earnings, and out of pocket expenses. Non-economic damages usually are designed to compensate a plaintiff for the pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused by the defendant’s acts.

Pharmacists must provide people correct medication with an accurate and understandable label, and if they do not, it can lead to grave health issues. If you were hurt by a mislabeled medication you received from a pharmacist, you may be able to pursue a claim for damages and should speak to an attorney. The seasoned lawyers of Arfaa Law Group can analyze the circumstances surrounding how medication mislabeling caused your harm and gather the facts and evidence needed to present compelling arguments in favor of your recovery of compensation. We regularly represent people in Baltimore, where our office is located. You can contact us via our form online or at (410) 889-1850 to schedule a conference.