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Four Ways You Can Suffer A Personal Injury Due To Medication

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It can take a long time to see serious side effects from medications. In a hospital setting, it can happen quickly. This type of injury is fundamentally no different from other personal injuries. Accidents with cars or injuries sustained on a company's property that were not your fault are subject to compensation. So too are injuries from medications that had nothing to do with your actions. The following are four different ways this type of personal injury can occur.

You may not have been given proper instruction

Often this can take the form of understanding that certain foods should not be eaten when taking the medication. Although this may mean that the medication will not be effective, it can also mean the medication can have an adverse effect on your body. The same is true with medical equipment used to deliver drugs that you are using at home. You should be aware of exactly how to use the device to prevent any serious dosage problems.

You may have been given the wrong medication at a hospital

This happens more often than you would think. Hospital workers are often rushed or overworked, and they may accidentally switch medications with another patient. When this happens, the issue is found out quickly, but the effect on a patient's health can sometimes be seen just as fast. Medications of this sort can be delivered to a patient in many ways, including through an IV.

You may have been prescribed a medication that is contraindicated

This may mean that you were prescribed a medication that conflicts with another medication that you are already currently taking. It can also mean that the medication you were prescribed, although common for the condition that you have, should not be used by someone with a preexisting condition that you have. This mistake can be made at a hospital or at a doctor's office, and although a pharmacist may catch the mistake, it isn't always so. You can suffer damage to your health before the mistake is found out.

You may have been a victim of a pharmacy negligence

There are many ways this can happen. An employee did not follow proper procedure, leading to you getting the wrong medication. This resulted in harm to your health. It can also be a case where the procedure itself was insufficient to provide a high level of safety for customers. Employees may have been improperly trained, especially with new equipment or with new software.

Like any personal injury lawsuit, it must be demonstrated that there was an element of negligence. Accidents do happen, and not everything can be prevented. However, you should let a personal injury attorney decide if your circumstances involved negligence, and not let a health care professional or organization tell you this. For more information, contact a firm like Siben & Siben LLP.


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