Medication Errors During Pregnancy
A woman giving birth to a baby should rely on her medical team to give her appropriate advice and give her the relevant information about taking medications. Many different medications can be prescribed to pregnant women. Unfortunately, medication errors are all too common in the United States.
Get A 100% Free CASE EvaluationThe consequences for a pregnant mother, however, can be severe since both baby and mother can sustain injuries or even die as a result of a mistake. Approximately one and a half million people across the United States are impacted by medication errors every single year, and a number of them are expectant mothers.
Causes of Medication Mistakes Impacting Pregnant Women
There are several different types of medication problems and errors while a woman is pregnant that can affect her ability to carry a baby safely to full term. These include:
- Difficulty reading the doctor's handwriting. Many unfortunate medication errors are made as a result of the fact that prescriptions are misread.
- Drugs that sound alike. Many drugs have similar names. Misunderstanding the type of drug that a doctor intended to prescribe or a doctor assigning you a drug that he or she thought was the correct one when it truly was not, could lead to major injuries for the mother as well as the baby.
What to Do if a Loved One Died from Medication Mistakes During Pregnancy
In these situations, it should not be the fault of the mother for trying to do everything in her power to carry the baby safely throughout the pregnancy. A doctor should be well informed about the various risks associated with medication and the general risks of pregnant women taking medications, to begin with.
When a doctor breaches his or her duty of care to a mother and the child, a medical malpractice lawsuit may result. The stakes are extremely high when a mother has passed away as a result of medication mistakes that could have been prevented with appropriate care. There is no amount of money that will ever correct a situation in which a mother has lost her life due to a medication error but talking to our attorneys may give you the only hope of being able to put this unfortunate incident behind you.