Is this constitue malpractice?

[bosstone78]

NJ

This issue is not as severe as some of the posting however it is an issue. I had a severe allergic reaction on my face this week that caused swelling on my forehead and rash around my eyes. I went to the dermatologist and was prescribed two creams...one for my forehead and the other for my eyes. The ointment for my eyes was not as strong due to the fact that the skin around the eyes is extremely thin and sensitive. Over the course of the day and a half of using the creams my eyes became extremely irritated and the burning sensation was off the charts. I called the doctor's office and I was told that the cream I was using for my eyes should have been applied to my forehead the cream for my forehead should have been for my eyes. Therefore I was using the more potent ointment on my eyelids which caused the burning. I called CVS and I was told that the doctor wrote two scrips and wrote the wrong instructions on the script. For the cream that was supposed to go on my forhead she wrote "apply to eyelids bid". The pharmacist said that they should have caught this because that cream should go no where near the eyes and appologized immensly. I called the doctor's office and got the doctor on the line. I explained that the scripts were written out wrong. The Dr.'s response was I instruced you in the office during your appointment as to where to put each cream. I explained to her that the instructions on the box for each cream were reversed due to the fact that she wrote out the scripts wrong. She insisted we spoke about it however my response was "What is the point of instructions on a prescription then?" I was in discomfort and not feeling well and for me to remember which cream to put where is nearly impossible due to the foreign nature of the names of these creams.

I've been in extreme pain for the last two days and I think one of the main reasons is because of the incorrect instructions. Do I have a case? Do I have a case with CVS? Shouldn't they have caught this if in fact any pharamcist should have recognized the doctor's instructions were not correct?

Thanks all...What is the name of your state?

[fcobarr]

Will you have permanent injuries as a result of the mix-up?

[ecmst12]

The original error was caused by your doctor; CVS COULD have caught the problem but did not, but their responsibility is lesser.

However, if you do not suffer PERMANENT damage due to your physician's error, then no viable malpractice claim exists. You haven't even required any additional doctor visits to treat the problem (if you had, I'd say they should not charge you for the follow up visits due to their error). Mistakes do happen, but if the only result is temporary discomfort from which you will recover fully, then there is no monetary value to your case.

[artiemd]

In situations like this, if you approach the physician and/or the pharmacist directly, they may be willing to compensate you for the inconvenience in some way.