Albuquerque Medication Error Lawyer

It is generally recommended that you speak with an Albuquerque medication error lawyer if your or a loved one’s medication was negligently mishandled and harm resulted. The legal counsel team at Branch Law Firm has extensive experience assisting clients with various medical malpractice issues, including medication mistakes, birth injuries, failure to diagnose and misdiagnose, emergency room errors, surgical mistakes, and more.

What Is Considered Medical Malpractice in New Mexico?

Any medical mistake, including medication errors, has the potential to cause harm, but an error alone isn’t medical negligence. In order for an error to be considered malpractice, your physician must have failed to provide you the standard of care that directly caused you significant injury or illness, resulting in additional expenses for treatment, extra time spent caring for your ailment(s), and other damages.

Evidence must include the appropriate care for the condition you originally sought treatment for, how the provider failed to provide that care, and your condition prior to the negligent treatment compared to the worsened condition after receiving improper care. Damages are easily proven with medical bills from the additional treatment needed to correct the malpractice injuries, among other losses.

Types of Medication Mistakes

There are numerous instances where medication errors can occur in Albuquerque, but here are some examples of the most prominent types or scenarios:

• Improper prescription. When a healthcare provider prescribes the wrong prescription for the patient’s condition or symptoms– or a drug that conflicts with their medical history, other current medications, etc. –there can be disastrous effects. This is also true if the right medication was ordered but at the wrong dosage.
• Errors in medication dispensing. A dispensing mistake is when a pharmacist or other pharmacy personnel provides a patient with a prescription other than the one ordered by their physician, such as the incorrect dosage or wrong medication altogether.
• Mistakes while administering. There are several ways giving a patient their medication can go wrong, including failure to appropriately instruct the patient and incorrect administration by a healthcare professional. Examples include not administering medication as often as needed or too often, giving the wrong dosage, and introducing the drug to the body in a form other than what the instructions call for, such as administering it through an IV when it’s meant to be given subcutaneously.
• Documentation errors. It’s important to avoid mistakes in healthcare documentation by ensuring all patient records are accurate and that patients are provided with the correct instructions on administering medication.

Limitations on Malpractice Settlement Awards

In New Mexico, there is a cap on settlements granted to victims of medical malpractice by an individual healthcare provider; the cap prohibits the award’s amount in all aspects except for any medical care and related benefits regarding harm from the specific claim. There are no limits on the victim’s compensation for past and future medical needs concerning the injury resulting from the malpractice. There are also no limits on punitive damages should they apply to the case.

The remaining portion of their settlement payout includes all non-economic damages– like bodily pain, mental and emotional suffering, diminished quality of life, disfigurement, inflicted disabilities or other impacts on daily functioning, etc. –and non-medical economic losses like damage to personal property and wages or earning capacity lost as a result of injury. This cap is adjusted yearly.

Additionally, there is a settlement cap for medical malpractice claims not liable to an individual provider, including hospitals and outpatient facilities that are either majority-owned/controlled by a hospital or not. This type of settlement also increases each year. As with compensation involving individual providers, this excludes the bills or costs of past and future medical care related to the harm resulting from malpractice, which has no cap limit.

Albuquerque Medication Errors Lawyer FAQs

Q: How Much Is a Medication Error Settlement Worth?

A: How much an error claim is worth depends on the physical (and mental) harm inflicted, the severity of negligence by the attending physician/provider, how much time is needed before the injured party can work, if they’re no longer able to earn wages as they did previously, and whether there are long-term complications to their daily functioning or permanent disabilities/disfigurement.

These damages will be capped, but compensation is not limited for any past or future medical expenses.

Q: Can You Sue for Being Given the Wrong Medication?

A: You can pursue legal action if given incorrect medication, but not all such instances warrant filing an injury claim. If your provider made an error but you suffered no ill effects, you can’t claim their treatment was malpractice; medical negligence occurs when a patient suffers significant harm as a result of improper care.

Furthermore, if your doctor administered the appropriate treatment and what you’re being treated for simply doesn’t improve, it is not classified as malpractice.

Q: How Do You Prove Medication Errors?

A: To prove your injury was more likely than not because of a medication error or other medical malpractice, your attorney must provide evidence of negligence.

Medical negligence is considered to have transpired when there is a known, established standard of care for the injury or illness you were seeking treatment for, that the care provided by the physician did not meet that standard, and that their failure to provide the standard of care directly resulted in your injury and subsequent damages.

Q: What Is the Cap for Medical Malpractice in New Mexico?

A: New Mexico’s damages cap for cases of medical malpractice applies to the entire settlement payout except for all related medical expenses and benefits. This applies to past or future medical expenses. Punitive damages deemed applicable to the injury claim are also not capped. Additionally, the cap for your situation is impacted by the negligent party, as the settlement cap depends on whether an individual is liable or an entire facility, like a hospital.

Medical Malpractice Law Professionals

Our team at Branch Law Firm is here to listen to you and help however we can. Even if you don’t think your injuries are significant enough or you’re unsure whether you have a strong case, we’ll review your case and discuss the available options with you. Contact us today.