Abramson, Brown & Dugan Attorneys

Medical malpractice cases involving failures to diagnose, misdiangoses, or surgical errors draw most of the attention but prescription drug errors can be just as deadly for patients.  A prescription drug error can take many forms-filling the wrong prescription, dosage errors, and label errors in which the instructions are wrong. 

One such recent case highlights these dangers.  A pregnant teenager was given the wrong prescription at a Safeway.  She was given another woman's prescription by mistake.  The two women had the same last name yet the pregnant teen was supposed to receive an antibiotic.  Instead, she received methotrexate, a drug that is used for chemotherapy and to terminate early pregnancy.  She ingested one of the pills before realizing the name on the prescription bottle was intended for another woman with the same last name.  Now, she faces an uncertain pregnancy.  She may miscarry.  Her child may be born with birth defects.  The outcome is uncertain.  Yet, this horrific story should serve as a reminder that prescription drug errors are serious and occur more often than one would want to believe.