UTAH MEDICATION ERRORS–WRONGFUL DEATH

Utah Medications Errors Malpractice Attorney Jake Gunter.  Call/TXT (801) 373-6345

Has a medication error caused a Utah wrongful death to occur? Our Utah medical malpractice attorneys can help you. Utah personal injury attorney Jake Gunter is a partner at Howard Lewis & Petersen, PC and actively practices Utah injury law.

Call Jake Gunter at (801) 373-6345 for a completely free consultation regarding your prescription medication error and the injuries caused by it.

UTAH NURSING HOME MEDICATION ERROR ATTORNEYS

Medication errors causing Utah personal injuries come in several types. Here are a few of the most common types of prescription errors that lead to death or personal injuries in Utah:

(1). Nurse Administering the Medicine Incorrectly. Nurses have a tremendous amount of responsibilities while on very long shifts. Even when the medical doctor or prescribing medical provider accurately orders the medication, nurse errors in administrating medication can equally cause injuries. Nurse administered medication errors are demonstrated in wrong dosages, wrong administration into the body, or mixing up two or more patient’s medications.

Not only can nurses cause medication errors, but physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, and medical doctors can cause errors. Great care needs to be take in the selection, transportation, generation and administration of prescription medicine to avoid medication errors causing death and injuries.

Common entities that can cause prescription medication errors are: hospitals, family practice clinics, nursing homes, in-patient substance abuse facilities, pharmacies and the medical providers themselves.

Wrongful Death Medication Errors

Medication Errors Wrongful Death

(2). Medical Doctor Medication Errors in Prescriptions. The doctor, just like the administering nurse, can make medication errors in how to administer the prescription drugs and how much of the drugs should be administered. Further, the doctor is responsible for the interrelated effects of multiple prescription drugs being used at one time.

(3). Pharmacy Medication Errors. Your local pharmacy who generates the doctor’s orders can make mistakes in dosage, basic instructions, or mix up and provide incorrect medications. Grammatical errors from the doctor’s orders, or a miscommunication from the doctor to the pharmacy to the administering nurse all can cause medication error death.

LAWSUIT COSTS OF MEDICINE ERRORS. THE PATH TO ACCOUNTABILITY

Pharmacy Errors Expert Witness Costs.   When choosing a law firm to represent you in a prescription medication error, you need to choose law firm with the financial ability to carry costs on your behalf. Pharmacist’s errors and nursing home errors all require expensive expert witnesses. The costs of initially hiring an expert witness is generally born by the law firm and later reimbursed from any settlement or jury verdict. This is very expensive and those costs are often covered right from the beginning of litigation, or the filing of the lawsuit. Many times, when there are multiple at-fault parties, you as the plaintiff will need to hire an expert in each of the specialties that the defendant represents.

If you have a pharmacy that is at-fault for misreading the doctor’s prescription, and you have a nursing error for failure to recognize a blatantly obvious medication error, you will need an expert witness in pharmaceutical work and a nursing expert. Without these experts, your case will fail, be dismissed by the judge even before the jury is given a chance to hear the case.

Medication Error Wrongful Death Lawsuit Timelines.  Utah medication error lawsuits will take an even longer time from start to finish. You can expect at least two years, and that can be stalled if you have appeals and multiple at-fault parties.

Most all prescription medication error lawsuits require the parties to participate in the Utah medical malpractice prelitigation process where a panel of lay, lawyer and medical experts are convened to hear the case informally first. After the prelitigation panel hearing, the panel will issue a determination of “MERIT” or “UNMERITERIOUS.” If your medication error injury claim is determined to have merit, you do not have to hire expert witnesses until the appropriate time in the litigation process. Generally, a year later, saving costs and expediting planning. If your case is found to not have merit by the prelitigation panel, you will be required to immediately hire an expert witness and produce an affidavit from that expert that the medical standard of care has been breached, causing injuries.

All medication error personal injury lawsuits will be Tier III lawsuits. Meaning it has the longest litigation time-lines, the broadest discovery and the most experienced defense attorneys.

CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION REGARDING YOUR PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION ERROR. (801) 373-6345.