How medication errors happen

Medicine passes through many hands before you take it. A doctor or nurse practitioner writes the order. A pharmacist fills it. In a hospital or nursing home, a nurse gives it. A mistake can happen at any step.

When a medication error becomes malpractice

Missouri law asks the same two questions in every malpractice case (RSMo 538.210). Did the provider fall below the care that careful members of the same profession use? And did that cause harm?

Some medication errors cause no lasting harm. A missed dose may not change anything. Others cause serious injury, such as bleeding, organ damage, a fall or an overdose. The claim depends on the harm and on proof that the error caused it.

Side effects are different from errors. A drug can cause side effects even when it is prescribed and given correctly. That alone is not malpractice. If the drug itself was defective or lacked a proper warning, that may be a product liability claim instead.

Who may be responsible

Missouri’s list of health care providers includes physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals and long-term care facilities (RSMo 538.205). Depending on where the error happened, a claim may involve:

• The prescriber, for ordering the wrong drug or dose, or missing an allergy or interaction.
• The pharmacy and pharmacist, for filling the order wrong or missing a clear danger.
• The hospital or its nurses, for giving the wrong drug or dose, or not watching you after.
• A nursing home, for missed or wrong doses given to a resident. See nursing home neglect.

What to keep as proof

Medication cases often turn on small physical details. Keep these things just as they are:

1. The pill bottle or package, with the pharmacy label.
2. Any pills or medicine left. Do not throw them away or mix them with others.
3. The printed drug information sheet and the receipt.
4. Photos of the label and pills, with the date.
5. A list of every medicine you were taking at the time, including vitamins.
6. Hospital or nursing home discharge papers that list your medicines.

Then ask for your records. In a hospital, the medication record shows what was given, when and by whom.

Deadlines and next steps

Missouri generally gives you two years from the date of the error to file suit (RSMo 516.105). If the error led to a death, the family may have a wrongful death claim, which has its own rules. The deadlines and caps guide explains both.

Write a short timeline now. Note when you started the medicine, when you felt something was wrong and what care you needed.

Your first consultation about a possible malpractice case is free. Harjot Singh Padda, JD can look at what you have kept and explain what a review would need.

Common questions

Related reading

• Medical malpractice in St. Louis
• Hospital negligence
• Nursing home neglect
• Product liability