When you check yourself into an emergency room while experiencing great deals of physical pain and mental anguish, you may be desperate for a resolution that will subside these feelings. You may be quick to accept the medications that the treating medical professional prescribes, especially since you may desperately place blind faith in their judgment. However, once you can think back clearly on your experience, and monitor your physical and mental conditions since, you may get a sick sensation that the doctor probably overprescribed you with drugs. Well, with that being said, please follow along to find out whether you can sue a doctor for an overprescription of drugs and how a proficient New York City medication error attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help end your suffering once and for all.
What constitutes an overprescription of drugs?
By definition, an overprescription happens when a doctor prescribes more medication than is necessary for a patient’s condition or when they prescribe medication that is not needed at all for a patient’s condition. Such an incident may arise because a doctor is overworked and feels forced to prescribe medication as a quick resolution; a doctor is subconsciously influenced by a pharmaceutical company’s advertising of certain prescription medications; a doctor is behind on learning the newer, safer, and more effective medications on the market and reverts to prescribing older, familiar ones. Importantly, though, none of these reasonings make overprescribing drugs excusable.
Can I sue my doctor for overprescribing drugs to me?
In short, you may be eligible to sue a doctor for overprescribing drugs to you if you believe that negligence existed in their doing so. More specifically, though, you will need to prove the following elements as true:
- You must prove you had a doctor-patient relationship with the doctor in question.
- With this relationship, you must argue that the doctor was expected to provide care that aligns with the standards of the New York medical community.
- You must prove the doctor breached their duty of care by overprescribing drugs to you.
- Specifically, you must argue that the doctor gave you an unhealthy amount of medication or unnecessary types of medication given your condition.
- You must prove the doctor caused your injury or harm as a direct result of their overprescription of drugs.
- Specifically, you must argue that you suffered the following issues:
- You experienced heightened side effects.
- You experienced dangerous drug interactions.
- You now have a dependency on these drugs.
- You now have a tolerance to these drugs.
- Specifically, you must argue that you suffered the following issues:
- You must prove that your injuries and harm led to your incurring actual damages.
- Specifically, you must argue that you sustained the following:
- Inflated medical bills.
- Prolonged lost wages.
- Diminished quality of life.
- Heightened physical pain and mental anguish.
- Specifically, you must argue that you sustained the following:
Before you take any further initiative with your medical malpractice claim, we urge you to consult a talented New York City hospital negligence attorney. Most definitely, the team at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. is eager to work with you.