Florida Medication Negligence Attorneys Lazarus and Lazarus
Medical malpractice is defined as any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient. Fortunately our U.S. Constitution allows victims to use the courts to seek compensation when they are injured by someone else’s carelessness, negligence, or malpractice. To do so, four legal elements must be proven: (1) a professional duty owed to the patient; (2) breach of such duty; (3) injury caused by the breach; and (4) resulting damages. Money damages, if awarded, typically take into account both actual economic loss and noneconomic loss, such as pain and suffering.
For many years the most common causes for victims to file medical malpractice lawsuits were improper diagnoses and actual injuries to patients but “medication errors” and specifically “pharmacy errors” have combined to now rank fifth on the list of most prevalent causes for the filing of lawsuits.
According to the National Institutes of Health: Close to 6,800 prescription medications and countless over-the-counter drugs are available in the United States.
Each year, in the United States alone, 7,000 to 9,000 people die due to a medication error. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of other patients experience but often do not report an adverse reaction or other complications related to a medication. The total cost of looking after patients with medication-associated errors exceeds $40 billion each year.
Medication errors happen in hospitals and they also happen when mistakes are made by pharmacists or pharmacy technicians at your local pharmacy.
The Law Firm of Lazarus and Lazarus has been helping people injured by medication errors since 1992 and we have special expertise dealing with the medical issues related to prescription medication mistakes. If you have questions we are always here to help by calling 954-356-0006.
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