St. Louis Medication Error Lawyer

The medical field is vast, and sadly, there are many ways that medical malpractice occurs when doctors and other medical providers do not adhere to the accepted standard of care. Medication mistakes are the most common types of medical malpractice in St. Louis and elsewhere, causing harm to an estimated $1.5 million Americans each year. Some medication mistakes can cause serious harm, requiring additional medical care, ending in an injury or worsened medical condition, or even a preventable death. If you or a close family member suffered the adverse effects of a medication error in St. Louis, your case requires and deserves careful handling. Contact Miller & Hine for representation by a law firm with years of experience in Missouri medical malpractice cases.

Why Select Miller & Hine as Your Medication Error Attorneys In St. Louis?

When you’ve placed trust in your medical providers, it’s disheartening to discover that a careless error caused you or a family member serious harm. While no legal process erases an injury, hiring experienced representation from Miller & Hine brings the following advantages:

• Over 50 years of experience, knowledge, and compassionate advocacy behind your case
• Access to crucial resources, like investigators and medical experts
• An individualized strategy based on the specifics of your case and designed to recover the maximum compensation available to you
• A history of exceptional results, including a recent $800,000 recovery in a medical malpractice case

With Miller & Hine, you can expect a free case consultation and contingency-based payment. Under this system, your medical malpractice attorney from Miller & Hine works at no cost to you until after you’ve received your compensation.

Understanding Medication Mistakes In Missouri

The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error and Prevention (NCCMERP) defines medication errors in the following way: “Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer.” Medical professionals place medication mistakes into four categories:

• Prescribing errors occur when a doctor’s handwriting is misread, or a doctor orders an incorrect medication, dosage, or instructions
• Dispensing errors occur when pharmacists dispense the wrong medication or incorrect dosage, or mislabel a medication
• Administration errors are caused by misreading labels, miscalculating dosage, or confusing medications with similar names

• Administrative communication failures occur when a healthcare provider fails to transfer a complete medical history when transferring a patient to a new facility or provider

Despite safety protocols and guidelines, medication errors remain a problem, resulting in serious harm to patients. Medication mistakes are almost always linked to faulty medication dispensing systems or human error. Less commonly, manufacturing mistakes and mislabeling cause medication errors.

Liability In St. Louis Medical Error Cases

Medical mistakes fall under the category of medical malpractice. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other medical provider deviates from the accepted standard of care. Proving liability for medical malpractice, including for medical mistakes, requires showing evidence that demonstrates the following:

• A doctor or medical provider/patient relationship was established at the time the error occurred
• The provider owed a duty of reasonable care to the patient, requiring them to treat the patient at the standard of care accepted by the medical community
• They violated this duty of care
• The violation of their duty of care caused injury to the patient
• The patient suffered economic and non-economic damages from the injury

When the medication mistake occurs due to a manufacturer’s error, proving liability requires meeting a different standard of liability for product liability. In this type of medication mistake claim, the injury victim must show that a faulty design, manufacturing mistake, or marketing error occurred. Because medication mistakes require both legal and medical knowledge, it’s crucial to hire an attorney with access to medical experts and other resources to prove your case.

Who Is Liable for a Medication Error In St. Louis?

When a patient files a medical malpractice claim, their attorney launches an in-depth investigation to uncover the cause of the mistake and to pinpoint the correct liable party. Depending on the unique circumstances of your case, the liable party could be one of the following:

• A doctor
• A nurse
• A hospital or other medical facility
• A pharmacist
• A drug manufacturer

In some cases, multiple medical professionals could share liability. For instance, if a doctor’s written directions were unclear when prescribing a medication, the doctor could be held partly liable, and the nurse who administered the medication could also be liable for failing to obtain clarification on unclear directions.

What Can I Get From a Successful Medical Malpractice Claim After a Medication Mistake?

A medication mistake can cause harm that ranges from a temporary setback or mild symptoms to severe injury or death. Although a successful claim isn’t a cure for temporary or permanent injury caused by a medication error, it addresses the associated costs to the victim and delivers a sense of justice to the victim and their family. Common damages recovered in successful claims include the following:

• Reimbursement for medical expenses
• Future medical costs for further care related to the medication mistake
• Lost earnings
• Future income loss
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Compensation for pain and suffering

If the medication error caused permanent harm such as impairment, disability, or death, addtional compensation may be available to the catastrophic injury victim. A close surviving family member of a patient who died from a medication mistake may recover compensation for wrongful death.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for My Medication Error Case In St. Louis?

Missouri limits the amount of time after a medical malpractice incident during which the victim can file a claim. This ensures that evidence remains available during the claim process or in court if the malpractice insurer fails to offer a sufficient settlement and the case goes to trial. Under Missouri 516.105, a medical malpractice victim has up to two years to file a claim, except under limited exceptions, such as the delayed discovery of the medical malpractice. Your attorney from Miller & Hine can advise you on how the statute of limitations applies to your case.

Call Miller & Hine to Speak to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer About Your Right to Compensation

It’s not uncommon for medical providers and their powerful insurance companies to dispute or deny medication error claims, sometimes requiring court litigation. Your St. Louis injury attorney from Miller & Hine will prepare your case for trial throughout the process, while seeking a low-conflict resolution through a settlement. Contact Miller & Hine today so your attorney can take prompt, assertive action on your case.