When a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist deviates from the accepted standard of care, the consequences may be life-altering. This might look like being given the wrong dosage, having a known drug interaction overlooked, or receiving the wrong pill from the pharmacy. You may feel completely lost, questioning if your situation truly qualifies as malpractice.
At Wapner Newman, we believe your only focus should be on getting better. You should not have to be a medical detective while also trying to recover your health. As Philadelphia medication error lawyers, our role is to handle the investigation. We work to uncover the facts and determine if the standard of care was breached, as well as consult with professionals to find the answers you need.
If you suspect that a medication error has harmed you or someone you love, your next step is to get clarity. Call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 for a free and confidential discussion about your situation.
Why Choose Wapner Newman for Medical Malpractice Claims
Since Morton Wapner and Robert Newman founded our firm in 1978, we have dedicated our practice to helping people who have been injured through no fault of their own. This long-standing commitment means we understand the local court systems, the healthcare networks, and the challenges families in our city face after a medical injury.
A Track Record of Results in Complex Injury Cases
Our firm has a proven history of managing high-stakes litigation. We were instrumental in securing the historic $227 million verdict for the victims of the Market Street building collapse, a result that demonstrates our capacity to manage exceptionally difficult cases.
Our experience extends directly to the harms caused by medical negligence. We secured an $8.4 million verdict for a client who suffered a brain injury due to a delayed diagnosis and a $2.7 million settlement in a wrongful death case stemming from medical malpractice.
We Come to You
When you are recovering from a serious injury, the last thing you should worry about is how to get to a lawyer’s office. If your injury prevents you from coming to our office at 1628 John F Kennedy Blvd #800, we will come to your home, the hospital, or a rehabilitation facility. Your recovery is the priority.
Recognized by Peers
Our lawyers have been named to lists like Super Lawyers and Rising Stars from 2004 to 2021, and firm partner Jarad L. Silverstein was recently recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
No Win, No Fee
We operate on a contingency basis, which is our No Win, No Fee guarantee. You owe us nothing unless we secure compensation for you, and your initial consultation is always free.
Compensation for Medication Errors in Pennsylvania
The goal of a civil claim is to restore your financial stability and provide acknowledgment for the suffering you have endured.
Economic Damages (Tangible Costs)
These are the straightforward, calculable losses that result from the injury.
- Corrective Medical Treatment: This covers the cost of additional hospital stays, surgeries, therapies, and medications needed to fix the damage done by the initial error.
- Future Medical Needs: If the error caused permanent damage, such as organ failure or a brain injury, a life care plan may be necessary. This plan outlines and calculates the cost of all future medical care, from in-home nursing to assistive devices.
- Lost Wages and Earning Capacity: This includes reimbursement for the paychecks you missed while recovering. If the injury prevents you from returning to your previous job or working at all, we pursue compensation for this loss of future earning potential.
Non-Economic Damages (Quality of Life)
Some damages are not as easy to quantify with a receipt, but they are just as real. These damages address the human cost of the injury.
- Pain and Suffering: This compensates for the physical pain, discomfort, and emotional distress you have experienced because of the error.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: An injury may prevent you from participating in hobbies, family activities, or daily routines that once brought you joy. This compensation acknowledges that loss.
- Loss of Consortium: This applies to the negative impact the injury has had on your spousal relationship, acknowledging the loss of companionship and intimacy.
Punitive Damages (The Exception)
In Pennsylvania, punitive damages are not awarded to compensate the victim but to punish the defendant for extreme misconduct. These are reserved for rare cases involving what the law calls reckless indifference to a patient’s safety.
An example might be a doctor practicing while intoxicated or a pharmacy being cited for systematically ignoring safety protocols and continuing the dangerous behavior.
What If I Am Partially at Fault?
Sometimes, the defense may argue that you contributed to the injury, for instance, if a doctor prescribed the wrong medication, but you did not take it exactly as directed. This falls under Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence rule.
This legal concept, also known as the 51% Rule, means you can still recover damages as long as your share of the fault is not 51% or greater. Your compensation would simply be reduced by your percentage of fault.
How Medication Error Claims Work in Philadelphia
The Standard of Care and The Certificate of Merit
To have a valid medical malpractice claim, we must prove that the healthcare provider breached the standard of care. Simply put, this means they did something that a reasonably competent professional in their field would not have done under similar circumstances, or they failed to do something they should have done.
In Pennsylvania, before a medical malpractice lawsuit can officially proceed, your attorney must file a Certificate of Merit. This is a signed affidavit from an independent, qualified medical professional who has reviewed your case and confirms that there is a reasonable probability that the care you received fell below the accepted standard. Securing this certificate is one of the first things we work on after investigating a potential claim.
Common Types of Medication Errors
- Prescribing Errors: This occurs when a doctor writes the prescription. Examples include selecting the wrong drug for your condition, ignoring a known allergy documented in your chart, or failing to account for a dangerous interaction with another medication you are taking.
- Dispensing Errors (Pharmacy Negligence): These happen at the pharmacy. It could be a pharmacist giving you the wrong pills in a correctly labeled bottle, putting the wrong instructions on the label, or mixing up your prescription with that of another patient who has a similar name.
- Administration Errors (Hospital/Nursing Home): A nurse or caregiver makes a mistake when giving you the medication. This could be administering the wrong dose (for example, misplacing a decimal point), using the wrong route (such as an IV injection instead of a muscle injection), or missing a dose entirely.
- Failure to Monitor: Some powerful medications require regular blood tests to check for side effects on organs like the liver or kidneys. A failure to perform this necessary monitoring can lead to severe, permanent damage.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Depending on where the error occurred, liability could fall on:
- Physicians and Surgeons for prescribing mistakes.
- Pharmacists and Pharmacy Chains (like CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid) for dispensing errors.
- Hospitals, which may be held responsible for the negligence of their employees (nurses, residents, staff pharmacists) under a legal principle called vicarious liability.
- Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities, where staffing shortages and complicated medication schedules may increase the risk of errors.
The Statute of Limitations and the Discovery Rule
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim is generally two years from the date the injury occurred. However, the law recognizes that the harm from a medication error is not always immediately obvious.
This is where the Discovery Rule comes in. In some situations, the two-year clock does not start ticking until the date you discover, or reasonably should have discovered, that you were injured and that the injury was potentially caused by someone’s negligence.
For example, if a medication silently caused kidney damage that was only found during a check-up three years later, the clock might start from the date of that diagnosis. Even with this exception, we advise acting quickly, as waiting makes gathering evidence and building a strong case more difficult.
Dealing With Medical Malpractice Insurers and Hospital Risk Management
After a potential medication error, you will be facing the hospital’s risk management department and its insurance company. Their primary job is to protect the hospital’s financial assets, not to ensure you receive full and fair compensation for your injuries. This creates an immediate conflict of interest.
Things to Watch Out For
- The Quick Settlement Offer: You might receive an offer for a small settlement very quickly after the incident. This is frequently done before the true, long-term extent of your injury is known. Accepting it means you forfeit your right to seek further compensation if, for example, your organ damage turns out to be permanent.
- An Apology vs. an Admission of Guilt: An apology from a doctor can be a comforting human gesture. However, risk management may try to frame it as just that, a gesture of sympathy, not an admission of fault. It will not pay your medical bills or compensate for your lost income.
- Delay and Defend: The process of getting your own medical records can be slow and frustrating. These entities know that as bills pile up, you may feel more pressure to accept a low offer just to get some relief. Their legal teams are prepared to draw the process out.
These institutions have teams of lawyers dedicated to defending claims like yours. The entire process is designed to be difficult for an individual to handle alone. You need a team that is focused solely on your recovery and your rights.
FAQ: Medication Error Claims in Pennsylvania
Can I sue a pharmacist for giving me the wrong medication, or is it the doctor’s fault?
It depends on where the mistake happened.
- If the doctor wrote a prescription for the wrong drug, the fault may lie with the physician.
- If the doctor’s prescription was correct, but the pharmacist filled it with the wrong medicine or dosage, the pharmacy could be liable.
- In some cases, both might share a degree of fault.
An experienced Philadelphia medication error lawyer will investigate the entire chain of events to identify all responsible parties.
What if the medication error happened to my child?
Cases involving minors have special considerations. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations is typically tolled, or paused, for a minor. This means the two-year deadline usually does not begin to run until the child’s 18th birthday, giving them until their 20th birthday to file a claim.
Is it malpractice if I had a severe allergic reaction to a prescribed drug?
It depends. If you had a known allergy that was clearly documented in your medical records and the doctor or pharmacist overlooked it, that could form a basis for a malpractice claim. However, if it was an allergy you did not know about, the law may consider it an unforeseeable complication rather than negligence.
Can I file a wrongful death claim for a medication error?
Yes, you can file a wrongful death claim in Pennsylvania if the medication error caused the death of a loved one. These claims seek to recover damages for the financial losses the death creates for the immediate family and estate, such as funeral expenses, medical bills, and loss of future earnings. You must file a separate survival action to recover damages for the pain and suffering the victim experienced before death.
Don’t Let Uncertainty Prevent You From Seeking Justice
Perhaps you’re not sure if what happened to you qualifies as malpractice. But that uncertainty is exactly why many medication error cases never get pursued.
Determining a valid claim is our job, not yours. We work with medical experts who review the records, identify where the healthcare provider breached the standard of care, and secure the Certificate of Merit that Pennsylvania law requires before a lawsuit proceeds. If no case exists, we tell you directly, and you owe us nothing for finding that out.
Let’s get the clarity you need. Call us today at (215) 569-0900 for a free, no-obligation consultation.