It is unfortunately true that prescription drug abuse is a growing issue in the United States. With this, doctors must be abundantly careful in the type and dosage of drugs they prescribe to their patients. Otherwise, they may induce a drug addiction in their patients. If this is your case, read on to discover whether you can sue your doctor for prescribing highly addictive drugs and how a seasoned New York City medical malpractice attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help define your legal options.
Can my doctor have contributed to or caused my drug addiction?
Controlled substances, such as opioids, benzodiazepines, and stimulants, may be effective for patients who are struggling with certain medical conditions. However, with these controlled substances being highly addictive, they may cause patients to subsequently struggle with drug addiction.
For this reason, your doctor must follow certain protocols when prescribing you such a highly addictive drug, as established by the medical standard of care. Firstly, your doctor must fully disclose to you that a certain prescription drug has the potential to become addictive. Then, they must adamantly monitor you throughout your treatment, looking out for any telling signs that you are becoming dangerously dependent on the drug. Lastly, if they notice your drug-abusing behavior, they must immediately discontinue the prescription drug and replace it with a less harmful alternative drug.
Unfortunately, if you do not believe that your doctor followed these steps, then you may have the right to conclude that they contributed to or caused your drug addiction.
Can I sue my doctor for medical malpractice if they prescribed highly addictive drugs?
If you believe that your doctor’s negligence in prescribing highly addictive drugs contributed to or caused your drug addiction, then you may be eligible to sue them for medical malpractice. As the plaintiff of this lawsuit, you must prove your doctor’s negligence through an abundance of evidence; primarily through retaining testimonies by medical expert witnesses. But generally speaking, you gather evidence that demonstrates the following circumstances as true:
- Your doctor owed you a duty in care in prescribing you a treatment with consideration for your overall well-being.
- Your doctor breached their duty of care by negligently prescribing you a long-term addictive treatment plan.
- Or, your doctor breached their duty of care by negligently failing to halt your treatment plan upon displaying signs of addiction.
- Or, your doctor breached their duty of care by negligently failing to prescribe an alternative, safer treatment plan that would have been just as effective.
- Your doctor’s prescribed long-term addictive treatment plan directly induced your drug addiction.
- Your drug addiction has caused you to suffer subsequent injury and damage.
When dealing with an urgent matter like this one, you must drop everything and call a competent New York City medical malpractice attorney. Our team at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help you pick up the pieces.