Prescription medicines are meant to help, heal and make people feel better. Pharmaceuticals spend millions of dollars researching and developing the next game-changing wonder drug.
But sometimes, what is meant to save people actually hurts them and puts them in a life-threatening situation. Who is responsible for the harm caused by a prescription medication?
How drug toxicity occurs
Prescription drug toxicity occurs when the medication levels build up in the body to the point where they begin to cause harm. There are several reasons why this may occur, such as:
- Improper dosage: The individual takes more than the prescribed dose. Depending on the medication, this could lead to immediate or gradual toxicity. This can occur when someone forgets they already took their medication and mistakenly doubles their dose.
- Drug interactions: Some medications are contraindicated, meaning they interact with each other in a negative way. One medication that slows your metabolism may lead to the accumulation of another drug in your system.
- Pre-existing conditions: Human bodies have built-in detox systems like the liver and kidneys. Organ damage can affect the body’s ability to metabolize a drug, causing it to accumulate in the bloodstream.
- Medication errors: Errors in writing or filling the prescription can result in toxic effects.
- Polypharmacy: You are prescribed a drug (or two) to treat a certain condition, but there are side effects. You are then prescribed another drug to treat the side effects. People with multiple health conditions can end up taking five or more medications, leading to an excessive build-up in their bodies.
- Contamination: When foreign substances find their way into the manufacturing process, they result in a contaminated drug that could lead to toxicity.
If left untreated, prescription drug toxicity can lead to severe problems, including irreversible organ damage, overdose resulting in hospitalization or death and other chronic health issues.
When prescription drug toxicity is due to manufacturing defects, insufficient testing, failure to warn about potential risks or errors by the physician or pharmacy, it’s crucial to hold someone responsible for negligence. Litigation can help encourage stricter safety standards and ensure corporate responsibility. For the victims, it means justice and compensation for the damage caused by a prescription drug.
