What It Takes to Sue a Pharmacist for Medical Malpractice

While most cases of medical malpractice occur as a result of improper care from a doctor, nurse, or surgeon, it’s also possible for a pharmacist to make mistakes that would qualify as negligence. In 2013 alone, over 250,000 people died from medical errors. If you believe that your dosage was incorrect or that you were given the wrong medication altogether, you may be able to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice.

How Pharmacy Negligence Occurs

Just like a doctor or surgeon, pharmacists have a basic duty of care that they owe to each individual who wants to obtain medication from them. If the duty of care is breached in any way, the pharmacist responsible for the mistake could be sued. Mistakes made by a pharmacist can be just as harmful and injurious as mistakes made during surgery. For instance, an incorrect vaccine dosage could create health issues or may not provide you with the level of protection from COVID-19 that you expect. Even if the mistake that the pharmacist made seems minor to you, any negative effects from this mistake could be grounds to file a lawsuit.

How to Prove Pharmacist Negligence

There are four things that must occur for a pharmacist to be negligent, all of which will need to be proven during a medical malpractice case. First, it must be proven that the pharmacist who is being sued breached the basic duty of care that was owed to you. Next, you will need to show that an injury occurred and that the pharmacist was the cause of this injury.

Any additional damages that resulted from the breach must be shown if you want to receive a fair amount of compensation. Before a lawyer is required to prove that all four of these factors took place, he or she will first gather evidence to make sure that the claim is valid and that it can be properly represented in court or during settlement negotiations.

Possible Negligence When Administering COVID-19 Vaccines

As an example, there are several ways that a pharmacist can commit medical malpractice when administering a vaccine that’s designed to treat the COVID-19 virus. Vaccine administration errors are any preventable events that cause patient harm or lead to an incorrect use of a vaccine.

Whenever a vaccine administration error occurs, you should be informed of this error immediately by the pharmacist in question. There are numerous mistakes that a pharmacist can make when providing patients with COVID-19 vaccines. For instance, the vaccine could be given to you at an incorrect site, which is any area of the body that’s not the deltoid muscle or anterolateral thigh.

It’s also possible that your vaccine dose was too high or too low, the latter of which can occur because of equipment failure or a leak. The dose may have been stored incorrectly before it was given to you, which could render it ineffective. If you suspect that your pharmacist committed medical malpractice for any reason when providing a vaccine dose, consider seeking legal representation.

When You Should File a Lawsuit for Medical Malpractice

It’s typically possible to file a lawsuit against a pharmacist in the event that it breached the required duty of care, was negligent, and caused harm because of that negligence. If you were harmed or injured in any way as a result of negligence, it’s likely that a claim could be made.

However, the extent of the injuries can dictate whether a standard insurance claim is filed or a lawsuit is filed. If the injury was significant, it’s likely that insurance wouldn’t provide enough compensation to cover damages, which is when a lawsuit should be filed. The compensation that can be sought during a lawsuit is meant to cover a loss of income, medical expenses, and other costs that you must pay because of your injury. The exact amount of compensation you receive from a lawsuit can vary and depends mainly on the severity of your injuries.

How Our Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You

If you believe that you were the victim of a medication error, our New Jersey personal injury attorneys can help you determine if your case is strong enough to obtain a favorable result. We can assist you in identifying what the best course of action is. If your claim has enough weight to it, the defendant may want to offer a settlement before a judge hears the lawsuit.

No matter the extent of the wrongdoing, we’ll support you by conducting a thorough investigation of your claim, which is among the most important aspects of our legal representation. If you want your lawsuit to succeed, ample amounts of evidence must be gathered to make sure that your claim is wholly supported. Call us today to learn more about what our legal services entail.

If you want to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a pharmacist, call our New Brunswick personal injury attorney at (732) 247-3600 or email us at [email protected] to find out how our attorneys can help you build a strong case.