Wrong Medication or Wrong Dose in California: When You Can Sue for a Medication Error

What counts as a medication error?

A medication error can happen at any step: when a doctor orders a drug, when a pharmacist prepares it, or when a nurse gives it. Common examples include the wrong drug, a dose that is far too high or too low, a drug given to the wrong patient, a drug given by the wrong route, a known allergy that was ignored, and two drugs given together that should not be. Missed doses of an important drug can also cause serious harm.

Under California’s jury instructions, a health care professional is negligent if they fail to use the skill, knowledge and care in diagnosis and treatment that other reasonably careful practitioners would use in the same or similar circumstances (CACI No. 501). For a medication error, the question is what a reasonably careful doctor, nurse or pharmacist would have done at that step, and whether the error caused the harm you suffered.

If the mistake happened at a retail pharmacy instead of a hospital, which rules apply depends on who made the error and where, so talk to a lawyer early about the facts. This page focuses on errors made by doctors, nurses and hospitals. Our Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyer page covers the rules that apply to every malpractice claim against a health care provider.

Serious medication errors must be reported to the state

California hospitals must report specified serious adverse events to the California Department of Public Health within five days of detection, or within 24 hours if the event is an ongoing urgent or emergent threat. The list includes a medication error that causes death or serious disability (Health and Safety Code 1279.1). The Department can impose an administrative penalty on a hospital for a deficiency that is an immediate jeopardy to a patient’s health or safety (Health and Safety Code 1280.3).

You can look up the hospital where the error happened in our Los Angeles County hospital records hub. It shows each hospital’s state health department records and Medicare quality data in one place. Those records describe the hospital as a whole. They give you and your lawyer context, and your own case will still turn on your chart and on what the staff did during your stay.

The most important record in a hospital medication case is usually the medication administration record. It shows each drug that was ordered, the dose, the time it was given and who gave it. Pharmacy records, the doctor’s orders and any automated dispensing records can show where in the chain the mistake happened. Ask for all of them when you request your records.

When a drug’s risks were never explained to you

Some medication claims are about a risk no one told you about. A doctor must disclose the information a reasonable person would need to decide on a proposed treatment, including the significant risks of death or serious harm (Cobbs v. Grant (1972) 8 Cal.3d 229). That duty applies to medications the same way it applies to surgery or other treatment.

A patient harmed by an undisclosed risk can recover if a reasonable person in the patient’s position would have refused the treatment had the risk been disclosed. So the test looks at what a reasonable person in your position would have decided with the full picture. A lawyer will look at what you were told, what the consent forms say and what other choices you had.

How long do you have to sue for a medication error?

A California malpractice lawsuit generally must be filed within three years after the injury or one year after the patient discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury, whichever comes first (Code of Civil Procedure 340.5). The one-year period starts when you know of the injury and its negligent cause, or have information that would make a reasonable person suspect wrongdoing and look into it. You do not need to know every fact (Sanchez v. South Hoover Hospital (1976) 18 Cal.3d 93).

Before filing, you must give the provider at least 90 days’ written notice of your intent to sue, describing the legal basis of the claim and the injuries (Code of Civil Procedure 364). If the error happened at a county hospital, a written government claim generally must be presented within six months after the claim accrues (Government Code 911.2). Our guide to California malpractice deadlines explains each step and how they overlap.

How a medication error case is proved

Expert testimony is generally required in a California malpractice case to prove the standard of care, breach and causation (CACI No. 501, Directions for Use). In a medication case, a doctor, nurse or pharmacist usually explains what should have happened, and a physician explains how the drug or the missed dose caused the harm. Causation can be disputed when the patient was already very sick, so the timing in the chart matters.

A hospital can be liable for an independent-contractor doctor’s negligence under ostensible agency when the patient looked to the hospital for care and was not put on notice that the doctor was not a hospital employee (Mejia v. Community Hospital of San Bernardino (2002) 99 Cal.App.4th 1448). Hospital nurses and pharmacists are often hospital employees, and the hospital also has its own duty to use reasonable care in selecting and reviewing its doctors (Elam v. College Park Hospital (1982) 132 Cal.App.3d 332).

In an injury case, the MICRA cap on non-economic damages in 2026 is $470,000 per category, and one case can have separate caps for doctors and for hospitals (Civil Code 3333.2). Lawyer fees are capped at 25 percent if the case settles before a lawsuit or arbitration demand is filed and 33 percent after (Business and Professions Code 6146). You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

If a medication error caused a death

When a death results from medical negligence, the claim is a medical malpractice claim, so the 340.5 deadline and the MICRA wrongful death cap on non-economic damages apply. That cap is $650,000 per category in 2026, and up to three separate caps can apply in one case. The three-year period runs from the date of death, and the one-year period runs from when the family discovered, or should have discovered, the negligent cause (Larcher v. Wanless (1976) 18 Cal.3d 646).

The surviving spouse or registered domestic partner, the children, and the children of a deceased child can bring the claim; if there are none, those who would inherit under California law can (Code of Civil Procedure 377.60). Certain dependents, such as parents, can also sue. Read our page on wrongful death from medical malpractice to see how these claims are handled.

What to do now

Request the records in writing. California patients and their representatives can inspect records within 5 working days of a written request and receive copies within 15 days (Health and Safety Code 123110). Ask for the medication administration record, the doctor’s orders, the pharmacy records and the nursing notes for the whole stay, along with any records from the treatment you needed after the error.

Keep any pill bottles, labels, IV bags or printed medication lists you were given, and take photos of them. Write down what you were told about the error, by whom and when. If the hospital or its insurer offers to talk about the error or asks you to sign a release, talk to a lawyer first. Then call a lawyer soon, so the 90-day notice can be served in time.

• Request the medication administration record, orders and pharmacy records.
• Keep bottles, labels and medication lists, and photograph them.
• Write down who told you about the error and when.
• Do not sign a release from the hospital or its insurer before getting advice.

Michael Shemtoub founded Beverly Law in 2008 and has been licensed to practice law in California since 2007. He earned his law degree at UC Hastings, is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California, and has tried cases to verdict. As the firm’s managing attorney, he oversees its cases.

Common questions

Related pages

Los Angeles County hospital records · Wrongful Death from Medical Malpractice in California · California Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations

Important: This page is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and damage limits depend on the facts of each case; talk to a lawyer about yours. MICRA amounts are for judgments, awards and settlements in 2026. Last reviewed: November 5, 2026.