Negligent Prescription of Medications or Medical Devices

A doctor or other health care provider can be liable for the negligent prescription of a medication or medical device if he either ignored the manufacturer's instructions, prescribed an incorrect dosage, or gave incorrect dosage instructions. A doctor is considered by the courts to be a "learned intermediary." As a "learned intermediary," the doctor's medical knowledge and training in combination with the information provided by a pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer should place him in the best position to determine whether a drug or device is proper in the treatment of a particular medical situation. The doctor has a duty to provide reasonable care to the patient, and to ignore this duty is negligence.

In addition, a pharmaceutical manufacturer may be liable if they failed to warn of potential side effects or dangers of the drug that could cause a patient injury.