Prescribing Errors by Doctors

What happens if a doctor prescribes you the wrong medication? Do you have a cause of action? While medications often help us in our daily lives to ease pain, battle symptoms, and otherwise stay healthy, if prescribed incorrectly they can do tremendous harm.

Prescription Error
There are several ways in which a doctor can be responsible for wrong medication, including:

• Wrong dosage
• Incorrect ingestion instructions
• Wrong duration of time needed to take the medication
• Prescribing a medication the patient is allergic to
• Prescribing a medication that has adverse reactions with others the patient is taking
• Prescribing a medication that will cause harm to the patient’s other medical conditions
• Prescribing an ineffective medication that does not help the problem
• Failing to relay possible side effects of the medication
• Prescribing an expired medication

In Arizona, to bring a case against a doctor for prescribing you the wrong medication, certain factors must be met:

1. 1. It must be established that the doctor owed a duty of care for your health:
      This factor is usually automatically met if there is doctor-patient relationship present.
   2. It must be established that the doctor breached that duty:
      That is, would a reasonable doctor acting in the same or similar situation have prescribed you this medication?
   3. It must be established that the breach caused you damages:
      That is, did the doctor’s failure to prescribe you the correct medication injure you?

If these three factors can be established, you may have a cause of action against your doctor.

There are deadlines for bringing lawsuits in Arizona called the statute of limitations. Generally, for most injury claims a complaint must be filed with the Court within two years from the date of injury, or two years from when the person knew or should have known that negligence occurred. However, there are circumstances where the deadline can be as short as only 180 days for some claims. Failure to comply with the applicable deadline will result in loss of the claim. Therefore, if you think you or a loved one has been wrongfully, you should contact a qualified lawyer immediately.