Patients are also sometimes harmed when pharmacists improperly fill
their prescriptions. These victims are given incorrect dosages, or even
worse, the wrong drug entirely. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association,
more than 550,000 injuries and over 100,000 deaths occur every year as
a result of improperly filled prescriptions. All told, an estimated
51.5 million prescription errors occur each year.
Even if
a patient is given a medication that would be appropriate on its own,
if it conflicts with a drug the patient is already taking, a serious
injury could occur. In this case, too, a claim may be brought against
the prescribing doctor or pharmacist.
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