What are my legal options if twice this month I’ve had to call my doctor’s office for refills on my medications and they faxed the prescription to the drugstore but the prescriptions that were faxed and filled were incorrect?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are my legal options if twice this month I’ve had to call my doctor’s office for refills on my medications and they faxed the prescription to the drugstore but the prescriptions that were faxed and filled were incorrect?
One was double the dose I normally take the other was not an extended release like I normally take and should be taken twice daily instead of once daily as before. Since I didn’t realize the difference for a couple of weeks, I potentially could have died.
Asked on October 18, 2015 under Malpractice Law, South Carolina
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care that degree of care that a reasonable medical practitioner in the community would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm.
If you were not injured as a result of the incorrect prescriptions, you don't have a case because you will need to document medical treatment caused by the incorrect prescriptions.
If you were injured and can document medical treatment, obtain your medical bills, medical reports and documentation of wage loss. Your claim filed with the doctor's malpractice insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury/illness/ medical condition and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
If the case is settled with the doctor's malpractice insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the malpractice insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the doctor.
If the case is NOT settled with the malpractice insurance carrier, your lawsuit for negligence against the doctor must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.