When you have a painful condition, your doctor might prescribe you medication to help you treat it. Unfortunately, sometimes mistakes are made with drug prescriptions, which can lead to deadly complications.
The Canadian government is hoping to minimize these issues with a newly introduced health legislation that was tabled in early December. The new bill is called Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act or Vanessa’s Law, which is named after Conservative Federal MP Terence Young’s daughter, who unfortunately died after a heart attack while taking prescription medication that was eventually removed from the market.
If the bill passes, it will require healthcare institutions to report adverse drug reactions and medical device issues to Health Canada. It will also enable the government to recall unsafe products and if the court rules on unsafe products, it will allow stiffer penalties such as two years of jail time and fines of up to $5 million a day (which is currently at $5,000 a day). Also, if unsafe products intentionally remain on shelves, the courts can instill steeper fines.
The bill would also oblige pharmaceutical companies to do further testing on a product, especially when there may be issues for at-risk populations, such as children. It will also oblige them to revise labels and reflect health risk information, including any updated health warnings for children.
“It would give providers and hospitals better information to make the best choices when prescribing medications – which is good news for patients,” said Gail Attara, the Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition, a patient advocacy group, in a press release.
Drug errors are one of the most common reasons for malpractice claims. While the most common reason for a malpractice claim was for missed or delayed diagnoses of serious healthcare issues, according to a study done by the Ireland Medical School in Dublin.
The family of a Calgary teen who died after taking Diane-35, a controversial acne drug, is suing Shoppers Drug Mart for negligence in failing to inform their daughter about the medication’s deadly side effects. A week before her death, the teen saw a doctor about her fatigue and difficulty to concentrate, says the Toronto Star. She suffered from four cardiac arrests, a pulmonary embolism and bleeding in the brain, a week later.
If you feel that a doctor or medical care worker was negligent in caring for you or a family member, whether it was through their care, diagnosis, communicating with other physicians, making referrals or poor judgement, you can file a claim for negligence. Another common malpractice issue is when a doctor fails to properly inform the patient about the medical procedure or doesn’t get consent for the medical procedure.
The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been handling all types of injuries for over 40 years including injuries from negligent medical workers. We understand the impacts injuries can have on your life and we know how to help you. Call us at 416-920-4242. Set up a free consultation and come talk with us.