When physicians prescribe certain medications to treat injuries or illnesses, most people trust that this is one of the necessary steps toward getting back to health. They rely upon the judgment of their doctors, believing that they are making decisions that are only in the patients’ best interests.
When problems arise due to medication errors, many individuals may have questions about what went wrong. In some cases, it is the drug itself that might be the problem. It may have been defectively manufactured, or it may cause unintended reactions within the patients that doctors should have know about before making the prescription. These issues can make it difficult to determine potential liabilities if the patient experiences an adverse health event due to the medication that he or she is prescribed.
The recent meningitis scare led to many concerns about the use of compounding facilities to distribute medications. Those patients that received the tainted drugs needed extensive medical attention before they were able to return to health. Many of these individuals are now experiencing additional health problems, including a relapse of the fungal meningitis.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that there may be as many as three individuals who have had these serious illnesses return. Additionally, many patients are still complaining of various illnesses even after having receiving successful treatment for meningitis.
The CDC also stated that other pain medications have been leading to potentially serious health issues due to a potentially contaminated supply. Certain individuals have reported experiencing abscesses after receiving the drugs.
Those patients that are having health issues due to medication that they have been prescribed may want to discuss their potential claims with a medical malpractice attorney. This will allow these individuals to understand the options that they have in their situation, and make an informed decision regarding the choices that are available.
Source: NBC News, “New worry for fungal meningitis patients: relapse,” JoNel Aleccia, May 29, 2013.
