Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
Available 24/7 (214) 333-3333
When you pick up a prescription, you trust that the medication is correct, the dosage is accurate, and the instructions are safe to follow. Most of the time, that trust is well placed. But when a pharmacist or pharmacy makes a mistake, the consequences can be devastating. A medication error can lead to serious illness, hospitalization, permanent injury, or even death.
Pharmacy errors happen more often than many people realize. Patients may receive the wrong medication, the wrong dosage, incorrect instructions, or a drug that dangerously interacts with another prescription. These mistakes can affect anyone, but they can be especially dangerous for children, older adults, and people with complex medical conditions.
If you or a loved one was harmed by a pharmacy error in Denver or anywhere in Colorado, you may have legal rights under Colorado law. Pharmacists and pharmacies have a duty to dispense medications safely and accurately. When they fail to meet that responsibility, they can be held accountable for the harm they cause. At Frenkel & Frenkel, our Denver pharmacy error lawyers understand the medical and legal issues involved in these cases. We know how to investigate medication mistakes, preserve critical evidence, and pursue compensation from pharmacies, healthcare providers, and their insurers.
We offer free consultations and handle pharmacy malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
Quick Answer
What Can a Denver Prescription Error Lawyer Do for You?
If a Denver pharmacist filled your prescription with the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missed a dangerous drug interaction, you may be able to recover money for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses. A Denver prescription dosage error lawyer can investigate what happened, gather records, work with medical experts, and build a claim against the pharmacist and the pharmacy. Colorado law also requires special steps, including a Certificate of Review from a qualified expert filed within 60 days of serving the complaint. Acting fast helps protect evidence and deadlines.
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Colorado treats pharmacist error claims as professional negligence, governed under the Colorado Health Care Availability Act (HCAA) and the standards set by the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy. Colorado law adds steps that do not apply in ordinary negligence cases.
The key procedural step is the Certificate of Review. Under C.R.S. sec. 13-20-602, within 60 days of serving the complaint, your attorney must file a Certificate of Review confirming that a qualified expert reviewed the case and found it has substantial justification. A separate certificate is required for each defendant. Failure to file on time can result in dismissal of your claim.
Colorado pharmacy rules are detailed and enforced by the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy (dpo.colorado.gov/Pharmacy). Before filling a prescription, pharmacists must conduct a prospective drug utilization review — checking for allergies, drug interactions, duplicate drugs, and whether the dose is safe. If the pharmacist skips that review or rushes through it, that may be a breach of the standard of care.
Wrongful death claims for families who lost a loved one due to a preventable medication error.
Often, more than one party may be at fault. The pharmacist who filled the prescription may be liable for their own negligence. The pharmacy that employed them may also be liable under respondeat superior.
Large pharmacy chains like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger, and others can also face direct corporate liability when their own policies helped cause the error. If a chain sets impossible volume goals, understaffs stores, or fails to use safe systems, those choices can help cause injury. If the prescribing doctor made the original mistake, the doctor may share liability too. Colorado uses a modified comparative negligence system (C.R.S. sec. 13-21-111): a jury can divide fault among several defendants, but if you are found 50% or more at fault, you may be barred from recovering damages.
Quick Answer
Can You Sue a Pharmacy for Giving You the Wrong Prescription?
Yes. In Colorado, pharmacists and pharmacies are treated as healthcare providers under Chapter 74 of the Colorado Civil Practice and Remedies Code. That means they can be sued for medical negligence when their mistakes cause harm. To bring a valid claim, you usually must show duty, a breach of the standard of care, causation, and real damages. Depending on where the error began, you may have claims against the pharmacist, the pharmacy, and sometimes the doctor.
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A patient may get a different drug than the one the doctor ordered. That can mean an allergic reaction, a bad interaction, or no treatment at all. This often happens with drugs that sound alike, such as hydroxyzine and hydralazine, or with similar packaging.
A dose that is too high or too low can cause serious harm. An overdose may lead to toxicity, organ damage, or death. An underdose can let a condition get worse or harder to treat. These errors are especially dangerous with drugs that have a narrow safe range, including warfarin, anti-seizure drugs, heart drugs, and lithium.
Colorado law requires a drug review before the prescription is filled. That review should check for dangerous interactions with the patient’s current medicines. If the review is skipped or done carelessly, the patient may get a drug that reacts badly with another medicine. That can cause heart rhythm problems, seizures, severe bleeding, or other life-threatening harm.
Wrong label information, like the wrong drug name, wrong directions, the wrong patient name, or missing warnings, can cause a patient to use medicine the wrong way for weeks or months. Because patients rely on the label every day, labeling errors can cause long-lasting harm.
Our attorneys have spent decades fighting for people hurt by prescription errors. We have the knowledge and resources to take on even the most complex cases against pharmacies, hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare systems.
Our founding attorneys used to defend pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers in medication error cases. Now, they use that inside knowledge to fight for injured patients like you. We know the tactics pharmacies and insurers use to deny prescription error claims, and we know how to counter them.
We have recovered over $1 Billion in settlements and verdicts for our clients.* For 16 straight years, our attorneys have been named among the Best Lawyers in Denver.
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Wrong medication given instead of the medicine that was prescribed, including look-alike and sound-alike drug errors
Dosage errors that led to toxicity, overdose, organ damage, seizures, cardiac events, or other serious harm
Underdosing that caused a condition to worsen, become resistant to treatment, or go uncontrolled
Drug interaction errors where the pharmacist failed to do or follow a required drug review
Wrong-patient dispensing errors, including cases where the wrong person picked up a mislabeled prescription
Labeling errors that caused a patient to take the wrong dose, at the wrong time, or in the wrong way
Failure to counsel errors where the pharmacist did not explain how to take the drug or what to avoid
Chain pharmacy corporate negligence, including understaffing, dangerous volume quotas, or poor training and supervision of pharmacy technicians
Wrongful death claims brought by surviving family members when a pharmacy error took a loved one’s life
Frenkel & Frenkel offers a free initial consultation. We handle prescription error cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. There are no upfront fees and no out-of-pocket costs to get started.
Depending on your facts, you may be able to recover past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning ability, pain and suffering, physical impairment, and emotional distress. In cases involving gross negligence or willful misconduct, punitive damages may also be available. Economic damages are not capped under Colorado law, but non-economic damages like pain and suffering are limited under the Colorado Medical Liability Act.
Many people are unsure at first. A sudden change in how you feel after picking up a prescription, unexpected side effects, a new medical problem soon after a medicine change, or a doctor saying the medicine was wrong are all reasons to look deeper. Our attorneys can review your records, work with medical experts, and help you decide if you have a claim. The consultation is free and there is no obligation.
No. Large chain pharmacies can face claims when their pharmacists make mistakes that harm patients. If the chain’s staffing policies, volume pressure, or poor training helped cause the error, the company may be liable along with the pharmacist. It helps to have a lawyer who understands both pharmacist negligence and corporate pharmacy liability.
Prescription errors sometimes start with the doctor, such as when the doctor orders a drug that interacts with another medicine or calculates the wrong dose. In those cases, the doctor may share liability. Colorado uses proportionate responsibility rules, so fault can be divided among several parties. Your lawyer will review the full chain of events.
Yes. You can file a complaint with the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy through the Division of Professions and Occupations (dpo.colorado.gov/Pharmacy, 303-894-7800). That process is separate from a civil lawsuit and does not recover money for you.
Keep the medication bottle and label, the original prescription if you have it, pharmacy receipts, and records of all medical treatment you received because of the error. Take photos of the label and the medication if you can. Do not return the medicine to the pharmacy or throw it away. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible so evidence can be preserved before records are changed or overwritten.
When a pharmacy mistake harms you or someone you love in Denver, you deserve answers and someone in your corner. The attorneys at Frenkel & Frenkel have spent decades representing injured people across Colorado. We know how insurance companies for large pharmacy chains look at these claims, and we know what it takes to build a case that holds pharmacists and pharmacy corporations accountable.
Call us today or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win. Colorado deadlines are strict, so do not wait.
