In order to have a valid medical malpractice case, you must be able to prove that you suffered some injury as a result of the doctor's (or in this case the pharmacy's) mistake. If I were you, I would contact a lawyer in your area who has a proven track record in medical malpractice cases. He or she will be able to determine if your hospitalization and the other effects of taking the wrong medication for 3 months will provide you with legitimate grounds for a lawsuit. It sounds like you have suffered damages as a result of this error, it's just a matter of whether it can be proven in a court of law. Best of luck.
The question
I found out this week that a medication I have been taking for the past 3 months was never perscribed to me. The pharmacy changed my original perscription from Lipitor (cholesteral) to Lisinopril (blood pressure) for no apparent reason, I was never perscribed this medication. I was already taking Benicar for my blood pressure. Which means for the last 90 days I have been taking 2 blood pressure pills and no cholesteral pills. I have congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease runs in my family. I was hospitalized about 2 weeks after I started taking the wrong medication for chest pain but have no way to prove it was related to me taking wrong medication. Also, I have no way of showing or proving what long term effects I will suffer for not takikng my cholesteral meds for 3 months or what damage may have been done to my heart for taking doulbe doses of blood pressure meds every day. Do I have a case?
From the LawyerCentral forum archive. Originally posted 30 September 2009 on a legal forum that has closed. Names and contact details were removed. See the original (Internet Archive).
3 answers
I've heard that a lot if times in a medical malpractice case, you need to have an expert witness (usually a doctor or nurse) testify confirming that the negligence of a medical professional caused you an injury. So, basically, if a medical expert witness would agree that because you received the wrong medication it caused you some harm, you will have a much stronger case. I definitely think you still need to talk to an attorney, I just thought I'd share what I've heard about these kinds of things.
If I were you, I would probably consult a medical malpractice lawyer and see if what are legal actions to take.
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