Birmingham Attorneys for Child Injuries Due to a Prescription Medication Error

If your son or daughter sustained an injury or experienced medical complications from receiving the wrong prescription drug or dosage, contact the Birmingham child injury lawyers of Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP immediately. The medical provider could be held liable for their mistake. You might be able to seek compensation from them in a medical malpractice case to cover your child’s hospitalization, physical therapy, other medical costs.

We know most people trust that the doctors they bring their kids to will provide dependable care and keep them safe. Treating an injury or disease might require diagnostic testing, surgery, rehabilitation, assistive medical devices, and other forms of treatment. The doctor could even prescribe a drug to alleviate pain or manage symptoms. Unfortunately, medication errors can arise, resulting in injuries, additional health problems, and even death.

Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP understands the trauma your child and family experienced. We know you don’t want to see your son or daughter suffer any further. Let Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP help you advocate for their rights and seek justice against the at-fault party. We will remain in your corner during each step of the process and fight hard for the maximum compensation available.

If you want to learn more about our services, call (205) 324-1212 now or contact us online for a free consultation.

What Is a Prescription Medication Error?

When your doctor writes your child a prescription for a new medication, you probably don’t think they could suffer any harm. You believe the doctor took the necessary precautions to check for drug interactions with any current medications and advise you about the adverse effects your kid could experience. However, medical providers are human and can make dangerous errors that put a person’s health and life at risk.

A prescription medication error can occur any time between when the physician prescribes a drug and the patient takes it. The most common errors include:

• Prescribing the incorrect dose
• Prescribing the wrong drug
• Filling the prescription with the incorrect drug
• Administering medication the wrong way
• Failing to inform the patient of adverse reactions
• Mislabeling the drug
• Illegible handwriting on the prescription pad
• Inadequate or lack of discussion of medical history for current medications, allergies, and other potential problems
• Improper follow-up after prescribing a drug

The doctor isn’t the only person who could be at fault for causing your child’s injuries from a medication error. A nurse, anesthesiologist, pharmacist, or another party involved in the process of prescribing, administering, filling, or recommending a medication could also be at fault.

Common Causes of Prescription Medication Errors

Although medical providers must have the necessary licensing, experience, training, and qualifications to provide children with medical care, they could make a dangerous mistake that puts their patients at serious risk of injury or illness. Sometimes, an accident is just an accident. However, there are many instances when a healthcare professional’s negligence leads to a medication error.

The most common causes of errors in prescribing medications to children are:

• Inadequate monitoring of the patient after providing the prescription
• Unlicensed medical provider
• Poor communication between the medical team
• Lack of proper protocols at the hospital or medical facility
• Notating the incorrect information in the child’s patient file
• Becoming distracted while writing the prescription
• Failing to notice other drugs, medical conditions, or other factors that could negatively interact with the new medication
• Inaccurate diagnosis of an injury or illness requiring a different drug than the one prescribed
• Interpreting a diagnostic test incorrectly

No matter why your child suffered an injury from the medication they took, you should seek immediate legal action. Take them to a different doctor for treatment and hire a lawyer to assist you with your case. It would be best to immediately begin the process to avoid running out of time to file your lawsuit.

Compensation Available in a Prescription Medication Error Case

Medication errors fall under the category of medical malpractice. This refers to a healthcare professional’s negligence that causes a patient’s injury or death. When you pursue a medical malpractice case on behalf of your child, you can seek compensation for a range of losses they and you suffered due to the prescription drug error.

The compensation you receive could cover:

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Mental anguish
• Disfigurement
• Permanent disability

The Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP personal injury law firm knows how important it is to receive the total amount of compensation possible from the at-fault party, so you’re not left with bills to pay yourself. While we review your case, we might refer to a range of contributing factors to calculate the appropriate value of your case. These factors could include:

• Total incurred costs from the medication error
• Type of medical condition suffered and how serious it is
• Age of your child at the time of the incident
• Amount of evidence available to prove the medical provider was at fault
• Length of time it took your kid to recover from the injury
• The estimated cost of medical treatment required in the future
• Insurance coverage listed in the negligent party’s insurance policy
• Emotional or psychological effects of the incident on your child
• The time you had to spend away from your job to drive your kid to doctor’s appointments or care for them when the injury kept them home from school
• Permanent physical or mental damage caused by the doctor’s error

It’s often a challenge to determine who’s to blame under these circumstances. If multiple people treated your child, it could be one individual or several providers responsible for the injury. We can investigate, gather evidence, and determine who was at fault so we know who to file an insurance claim with to recover a settlement. If we encounter issues with the insurance company or receive a denied claim, we could proceed with a lawsuit and fight them in court.

Laws About Lawsuits You Must Follow in Alabama

If you decide to sue your child’s doctor for the prescription error, you must adhere to a strict timeframe called a statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Alabama is two years. That means you have two years from the incident date to file suit if you want to seek compensation.

One particular exception to this rule could significantly delay the deadline. Since your child was a minor at the time of the incident, they could wait until they turn 19 and file a lawsuit themselves if you don’t file one on their behalf. That means the statute would begin when they turn 19 and last no more than three years.

The adverse effects of medication errors might not present themselves until years later. If you did not discover the injury or illness from the doctor’s mistakes until after the statute passes, you might still have an opportunity to initiate a lawsuit. The discovery rule allows the victim of medical malpractice to pursue their case within six months from the date they knew or should have known about the harm they suffered. However, you cannot initiate the lawsuit more than four years after the error took place.

Why Hire Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP?

Some people choose not to seek legal representation because of the legal costs. Unfortunately, this often results in minimal compensation and dismissed cases. You might think you can take on a medical malpractice case alone, but if you don’t know your child’s rights, the insurance company could intimidate you into accepting a lowball offer or unfairly deny the claim.

Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP child injury lawyers understand the economic burden most parents face when their child sustains an injury due to another person’s negligence. We don’t want to add to your financial strain, which is why we take these cases on contingency. That means you won’t be responsible for upfront fees or costs when you hire us. We don’t expect to be paid our legal fees unless we recover compensation for our clients.

Our legal team is available 24/7 to take your call. You can reach us when you need us most to discuss your case or address your concerns. We believe in providing dependable customer service at all times to our clients. You should not have to wait days or weeks for a callback or wonder about the status of your insurance claim. You will receive open, honest, and ongoing communication during each step of the process.

The experienced personal injury lawyers of Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP earned and maintained an excellent reputation since our firm opened in 1997. Multiple prestigious organizations have recognized us for our work ethic and case results. We hold an AV® preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest honor an attorney can receive. We have also been featured in Birmingham Magazine, B-Metro Magazine, and other publications for our achievements.

Contact Us

If your son or daughter were injured by a medical provider’s prescription medication error, contact Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP today.

We are ready to go to battle for you and your child against the negligent doctor or facility and seek the maximum possible compensation. We will use all the resources at our disposal to obtain crucial evidence and try to reach your desired outcome in the case. Your child deserves a chance to heal, and you deserve to receive the financial award necessary to pay for their medical bills.

Call a Farris, Riley & Pitt, LLP Birmingham child injury lawyer at (205) 324-1212 today for your free consultation and let our legal team fight by your side until the end.