Medication Errors and Prescribing Mistakes in Arizona

By Joe Styler, editor (not an attorney). Updated October 9, 2026. Sources checked

A medicine can pass through several hands before it reaches a patient: someone prescribes it, a pharmacy fills it, and in a hospital or clinic a nurse or other staff member may give it. When something goes wrong along the way, Arizona’s malpractice statutes apply the same tests they apply to any other care. This page covers who can fall within them, what must be proved, and how fault is shared. It does not say that anyone is responsible in any particular case.

Where medication errors fit in Arizona law

We found no separate rule for medication claims in the sections of Arizona’s malpractice chapter we read. A claim about a prescription or a dose is a medical malpractice action if it fits the general definition in A.R.S. 12-561: an action for injury or death against a licensed health care provider, based on the provider’s alleged negligence, misconduct, errors or omissions, or breach of contract in providing health care, or on care given without express or implied consent. Under A.R.S. 12-562, a malpractice action against a licensed provider can be brought only on those grounds.

Who can be a “licensed health care provider”

Under A.R.S. 12-561(1)(a), a licensed health care provider is a person, corporation or institution licensed or certified by the state to provide health care, medical services, nursing services or other health-related services. The definition also takes in the officers, employees and agents of that person or institution who work under its supervision.

The test turns on state licensing or certification, not on a job title. In medication care, the people and organizations involved can include:

• the physician or other licensed professional who wrote the prescription
• the pharmacist who filled it, and the pharmacy where it was filled
• nurses and other staff who gave the medicine in a hospital, clinic or other facility
• the hospital or facility itself, and the people working under its supervision

Arizona law gives the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy power to investigate and discipline pharmacists and to discipline pharmacy permittees (A.R.S. 32-1927 and 32-1927.02). Whether a particular person or business meets the 12-561 definition, and whether any of them did anything wrong, depends on the facts.

The same two elements apply

A.R.S. 12-563 makes two things necessary in every Arizona malpractice claim, including one about medication:

1. the provider did not use the care, skill and learning expected of a reasonable, prudent provider in the same profession or class in Arizona, acting in the same or similar circumstances; and
2. that failure was a proximate cause of the injury.

Harm after taking a medicine does not, on its own, show the first element. The question is whether a provider in the chain fell short of what a reasonable, prudent member of that same profession would have done. The second element is separate. A shortfall that did not cause the injury does not meet it. Each provider’s conduct is measured against its own profession or class, so a prescriber, a pharmacist and a nurse are not held to one shared yardstick.

If a medicine was given around an operation, our page on surgical errors in Arizona may also help. If the concern is that the wrong treatment followed a missed or late diagnosis, see our page on misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis in Arizona.

When more than one party is involved

Several providers can touch one prescription, so two fault statutes matter. The first is several liability under A.R.S. 12-2506. In an injury or wrongful death case, each defendant’s liability is generally several only, not joint. Each one is liable only for the damages allocated to it in direct proportion to its percentage of fault. The jury weighs the fault of everyone who contributed to the injury, named in the suit or not, though fault assigned to a nonparty does not make it liable. One exception: a party is responsible for the fault of another person who was acting as its agent or servant.

The second is comparative fault under A.R.S. 12-2505. If the injured person is also found partly at fault, the claim is not barred. The full damages are reduced in proportion to that person’s share of fault. Whether this defense applies is left to the jury. The reduction rule does not help a claimant who intentionally, wilfully or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury.

How these rules split fault among a prescriber, a pharmacy and a hospital in a given case is a question for a lawyer. Our overview of Arizona medical malpractice law covers the other statutes.

Expert testimony

Arizona front-loads the expert question. The claimant has to state in a written certification whether expert opinion testimony is needed to prove the standard of care or liability, and when it is, a preliminary expert opinion affidavit goes out with the initial disclosures (A.R.S. 12-2603). If a required affidavit is not filed and served, the court shall dismiss the claim without prejudice. A.R.S. 12-2604 sets who may give standard-of-care testimony, and its requirements are tied to the profession or specialty of the provider the testimony is about. With a prescriber, a pharmacist and a nurse, that is three different professions. Our page on the expert affidavit requirement explains the rules.

Have questions about a medication you or a family member received? Request a free case review.

Medical and pharmacy records

Arizona defines medical records broadly: all communications about a patient’s physical or mental health or condition that are recorded in any form and kept for diagnosis or treatment (A.R.S. 12-2291). Materials prepared for peer review, utilization review or quality assurance are not part of the medical record under that law.

In a medication case, records may sit with the prescriber’s office, the hospital or clinic, and the pharmacy. A patient or the patient’s health care decision maker can make a written request for access to or copies of medical and payment records (A.R.S. 12-2293). For a request made for litigation, or for a deceased patient’s records, the statute gives the provider up to thirty calendar days to respond. Our page on how to get your medical records in Arizona explains how to make the request.

Complaints to licensing boards

A licensing complaint is a separate process and does not file a lawsuit. Where it goes depends on who was involved:

• Medical doctors (MDs): the Arizona Medical Board.
• Osteopathic physicians (DOs): the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery.
• Nurses: the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
• Pharmacists and pharmacies: the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy, under A.R.S. 32-1927 and 32-1927.02. We could not check the board’s own complaint page, so we do not describe its process.
• Hospitals and other medical facilities: the Arizona Department of Health Services, which has a complaint form for concerns about a medical facility.

Our page on a Medical Board complaint or a lawsuit explains what a board can and cannot do. Sending our form does not stop or pause any deadline.

Time limits

The general deadline is in A.R.S. 12-542: two years after the cause of action accrues. Accrual is not automatically the day a dose was given or a prescription was filled. If the patient died, the count starts at the death. Public bodies have shorter clocks: a notice of claim within 180 days after accrual for a public entity, public school or public employee (A.R.S. 12-821.01), and suit within one year against a public entity or public employee (A.R.S. 12-821). Care at a federal facility follows different rules not covered here, so ask a lawyer soon. Each clock is set out on our Arizona statute of limitations page. Sending our form does not stop or pause any deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Can a pharmacist or pharmacy be part of a malpractice claim in Arizona?

Arizona’s malpractice chapter covers any licensed health care provider: a person, corporation or institution licensed or certified by the state to provide health care or health-related services, including its officers, employees and agents working under its supervision (A.R.S. 12-561). Whether a particular pharmacist or pharmacy meets that definition, and whether either did anything wrong, depends on the facts.

Is every medication mistake malpractice?

No. Under A.R.S. 12-563, a claim must prove both that a provider failed to use the care, skill and learning expected of a reasonable, prudent provider in the same profession or class in the same or similar circumstances, and that this failure was a proximate cause of the injury.

Where can I complain about a nurse or pharmacist?

The Arizona State Board of Nursing investigates complaints alleging violations of the Nurse Practice Act or its rules. Arizona law gives the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy power to investigate and discipline pharmacists and to discipline pharmacy permittees. A board complaint is a separate process and does not file a lawsuit.

How long do I have after a medication error?

Generally two years from when the cause of action accrues (A.R.S. 12-542), and accrual is not automatically the day of the error. With a public entity or public employee, the notice of claim is due within 180 days and the lawsuit within one year. Sending our form does not stop or pause any deadline.