If you’ve visited a Lloyds pharmacy for a prescription and been given medication, then you may assume that what you have been given would be exactly as was written on the prescription. However, this may not be the case. If you have suffered harm from an error by a Lloyds pharmacy that could have been avoided, you could make a Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication claim for compensation.
Within the guide below is information pertaining to claims for a dispensing error by a Lloyds pharmacist. You will find useful guidance on what could happen if a pharmacy gives you the wrong medication in the UK, what kinds of medication errors could cause you to suffer harm, as well as the duty of care that pharmacists have towards you. Also covered in some detail are approximate compensation amounts and details of how we could provide you with the guidance and support to begin a claim. You can reach our team on 0800 073 8804. However, why not take a look below to see if we’ve already given the answer to your question.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Lloyds Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims
- What Are Prescription Errors By Lloyds Pharmacy?
- Statistics – How Often Medication Errors Occur In England?
- Causes Of Dispensing And Medication Errors By Pharmacists
- Types Of Pharmacy Wrong Medication Errors
- Impacts Of Wrong Medication Prescription Errors
- Steps Which Could Be Taken To Prevent These Mistakes
- Pharmacy Wrong Medication Negligence Compensation Calculator
- What Else Could I Be Compensated For?
- No Win No Fee Claims For Lloyds Pharmacy Negligence
- Why Choose Legal Expert For Your Pharmacy Negligence Claim?
- Start Your Prescription Error Claim
- Essential Resources
A Guide To Lloyds Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims
Have you suffered harm because of a Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication error? If so, then this guide could offer you some useful guidance. A pharmacist has a duty of care towards you and if they are negligent in providing the right medication to you, you could take action against them by making a prescription negligence claim.
Contained within the sections below is guidance and support for those that have suffered harm because they were given the wrong medication. Whether you have been given the incorrect medication entirely or have been given incorrect instructions as to how to take your medication, the information below could offer insight into whether you could claim compensation. Also provided is guidance on finding a lawyer to help you with medical negligence claims of this type, and information on the services we offer to prospective claimants.
What Are Prescription Errors By Lloyds Pharmacy?
Lloyds Pharmacy is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the UK, operating over 1500 stores. In Lloyds pharmacies, you can get prescriptions filled, obtain advice from a pharmacist and purchase many over the counter medicines.
All pharmacists have a duty of care to provide a safe service, and in many cases, this is what customers receive. However, if you suffer harm because of Lloyds Pharmacy negligence by being given the incorrect medication, an incorrect prescription, or incorrect instructions on how to take your medication, then you could make a prescription negligence claim for compensation.
Can You Sue If A Pharmacy Gives You The Wrong Prescription?
There are some restrictions when it comes to making a Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication claim. You would have to be able to prove that the pharmacy was negligent, that the negligence caused you harm, and that your case falls within the personal injury claims time limit. The limitation period is usually three years from the date of discovery that negligence has caused you avoidable harm. With some medication errors, you may realise harm has been caused right away, as symptoms could be immediate, but with others, you may not be aware of the fact that you have suffered harm until a later date.
If you are claiming on behalf of a child that has suffered from Lloyds Pharmacy malpractice, you could have until their eighteenth birthday to claim on their behalf. If you have not made a prescription negligence claim before they turn 18, they could make a claim for compensation for themselves, and they would have until their 21st birthday to do so.
It would be prudent of us to mention that sometimes, it may not be the pharmacist’s fault you have been given the wrong prescription. If your GP prescribed the wrong medication to you, and the pharmacy was not aware of this, then it could be the GP’s fault that you are given the incorrect medication and not the pharmacist. You may then be able to claim compensation for the harm suffered, but you would be claiming medical negligence against your GP and not against the pharmacy.
Statistics – How Often Medication Errors Occur In England?
According to research by Universities of York, Manchester and Sheffield, there are over 200 million medication errors per year. Research by the universities also found that adverse drug reactions could contribute towards 1700-22,303 deaths per year.
Although the study revealed that 3 out of 4 medication errors would have been unlikely to have caused harm to patients, there was not much information that described the severity and type of harm that had occurred due to medication errors.
This led the researchers to look into the economic impact of such errors, and they found that cases could range from £60 for an inhaler error, to over £6m in damages for anaesthetic errors.
Causes Of Dispensing And Medication Errors By Pharmacists
There are many different reasons why dispensing and medication errors could be made by pharmacists. Whether the pharmacy is busy or not, pharmacists have a duty of care to ensure that attention to detail is maintained in their service. If they do not take care when dispensing and administering prescriptions, errors like the below could be caused:
Wrong prescription entirely – one way in which an error could occur would be if you were given the wrong prescription entirely – this could involve you being given someone else’s prescription or an incorrect item that has been dispensed in error.
Wrong strength – If you are given the wrong strength of a medication, this could lead to undertreatment of an illness or an overdose.
Mislabelled medication – You could also be given the wrong medication if there was a labelling error.
Mislabelled instructions – If the instructions as to how you should take your medication were incorrect, this could cause you to take too much or too little of your medication, or you might take two doses too close together, these could also cause you harm.
Computer error – These days, some pharmacies have digital systems. If they fail in some way, you may be given the wrong prescription as a result.
These are just a few examples of how pharmacy errors could happen. If you have been harmed by pharmacy negligence at a Lloyds Pharmacy, in one of the ways above, or in any other way, we could tell you whether you could be eligible to make a Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication claim.
Types Of Pharmacy Wrong Medication Errors
Within a pharmacy, there could be a variety of situations where you could receive the wrong medication and it could cause you harm. These could include instances of:
Dispensing The Wrong Medication
If your pharmacy wrong medication case arises because you are given the wrong medication entirely, this could cause you harm in two different ways. If you take a medicine that you are not meant to, this could cause further medical issues, and you may also suffer harm because the illness you require medication for is not being treated. If you are given the incorrect medication because the pharmacist handed you someone else’s prescription, you could make a claim for compensation if you take the medication that is meant for someone else and it causes you harm.
Dispensing Incorrect Instructions
If you are given the wrong instructions on taking your medication, this could also cause you to suffer harm. If, for example you are to avoid taking medication in the morning, this should be communicated within the instructions you are given. If you are to take the medication at certain intervals or in certain doses, this should also be included within the instructions you are given. If you are asked to take medication too often, for example, this could cause an overdose, and in some cases, this could be quite dangerous.
Using Ingredients Which Are Damaged
Many medications have a use-by date and it is the responsibility of the pharmacy to ensure that the medication you are given is in date and fit for use. If they do not do so, and you are harmed by out of date or otherwise damaged medication, you could claim compensation for this type of error by a pharmacy.
Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs)
There are many different medications that cause drug reactions if you combine them. If a pharmacist mistakenly mixes prescriptions, then this could cause you to suffer a drug reaction. In some cases, the reaction you suffer may only be minor, but in others, the consequences could be quite severe.
Impacts Of Wrong Medication Prescription Errors
There could be several negative impacts of a dispensing error by a Lloyds pharmacist. These could include:
Overdose – If you are advised to take too much medication, or you are given too high a dose by the pharmacy, then this could cause an overdose. Overdosing on medication could cause severe harm, and could, in extreme cases, even lead to death.
Underdose – If you are given too low a dose of medication, or told to take too little, this could cause a medical condition to be undertreated. This may cause you to require further, more invasive treatment to fix the condition, or it could cause you to have to undergo a longer recovery period.
Interactions – If you are dispensed the wrong medication and are already taking other medications, this could cause a drug interaction. These could range from minor to severe, and could even result in death.
Allergies – If you are dispensed something that you are already known to have allergies to, you could suffer an allergic reaction.
Steps Which Could Be Taken To Prevent These Mistakes
There are many ways in which a pharmacy could take steps to protect their customers from the harm that could be caused by the wrong medication. These could include:
- Having a system in place for checking prescriptions at every point of the dispensing process.
- Ensuring the stock of medicines is regularly checked to ensure out of date medications are removed from stock
- Ensuring that full training is provided to all relevant members of staff as to the dispensing and administration procedures that must be followed
- And more…
As a patient, you could also protect yourself from such harm by:
- Checking that the medication dispensed matches the dose and name of that on the prescription
- Checking each medication packet to ensure your name is on them
- Checking the inner and outer packaging to check that dosage and medication name matches
- Checking with the pharmacist how often you should take your medication, and asking if there are any other instructions for taking your medication you should be aware of
- Checking with the pharmacist whether any new medication is likely to interact with your current medication
Pharmacy Wrong Medication Negligence Compensation Calculator
One frequently asked question about personal injury claims of this type surrounds how much compensation for a dispensing error by a pharmacy could be appropriate for specific injuries. While you might have been under the assumption that we’d include a personal injury claims calculator to give you an idea of the approximate compensation you could receive for your injuries, we’ve chosen instead to present this information in a table, which you can view below.
The guideline payout amounts included in the table have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, and relate to injuries we feel could relate to this type of claim. If we have not included your specific injury in the table, then please do call us and we’ll be happy to refer to the guidelines to give you an approximation of how much you could look to receive if you were to move forward with a claim.
| Injury | Guideline Compensation | Further detail |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Toxicosis | £36,060 to £49,270 | Within this bracket would be cases where hospital admission might be required for some weeks. There would likely be pain, which would be serious, as well as fever, diarrhoea, and some vomiting. Long-term, this could lead to the development of IBS, as well as other function issues with bowels. Ability to work could be affected. |
| Serious (short-lived) poisoning | £8,950 to £18,020 | Cases in this bracket could include those where injured parties suffer diarrhoea and vomiting between two and four weeks. There could be issues with the enjoyment of food, the injured party’s sex life, and bowel function for some time afterwards. |
| Less severe poisoning | £3,710 to £8,950 | Serious levels of discomfort, with cramping, fatigue, bowel discomfort and other symptoms. Hospitalisation could be required for a few days. Full recovery would likely occur between one and two years. |
| Poisoning | £860 to £3,710 | Where the injured party has suffered some days/weeks of pain, diarrhoea and cramping. |
| Damage to kidney | Up to £60,050 | Natural function loss could occur, and there could be a high risk of injured parties sustaining infections in the future. This bracket is set quite high due to the fact that such injuries could result in high costs in terms of medical care. |
| Bowel damage | £41,850 to £65,440 | Injuries leading to impairment of function, as well as the ability of the injured party to work and limitation of what food they can eat. |
It would be prudent of us to mention, however, that these are only approximate payout amounts. As part of your claim, you would be required to undergo a medical assessment with an independent expert who would examine you, talk to you about your injuries, and would write a medical report which could then be used to value your claim.
What Else Could I Be Compensated For?
Your compensation payout may not just include compensation for your injuries and the suffering and pain they have caused you. You could also claim what is known as special damages. Special damages would compensate you for the financial harm you’ve suffered because of your injuries. They could include, but are not limited to:
Cost of care – If you needed someone to help you with activities such as cooking, washing and dressing, these costs could be compensated for as special damages.
Cost of medical care – If you needed to pay for prescriptions, treatments or medical care because of your injuries, these costs could also be included as special damages.
Costs of transport – If you had to pay for transport to medical appointments or to go and see your lawyer, for example, you could also claim for travel costs.
Earning losses – You could also suffer financial harm if you’ve not been able to work because of your injuries. In these cases, you could claim for both actual and projected loss of earnings.
No Win No Fee Claims For Lloyds Pharmacy Negligence
Were you considering moving forward with a Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication claim but were looking for legal support? If so, you may be interested to learn that you do not have to pay for these services upfront if you choose to work with a No Win No Fee solicitor for your claim.
The way in which a No Win No Fee claim would work would be documented within a Conditional Fee Agreement that you would have to sign prior to your claim being taken on. Your lawyer would set out what percentage of your settlement they would take as a success fee once they’d obtained you a compensation payout. If you are concerned that all of your compensation would go towards legal fees, you may be interested to know that the government has a cap on this percentage; it cannot be more than 25%. In addition to this, your lawyer would not be able to demand the success fee if they didn’t secure you any compensation, but your claim was a valid one.
Some claimants may prefer to claim in this manner because it does not require any upfront payment, and some may prefer this method because they believe it presents less of a financial risk to them. If you have any questions about the benefits of making a No Win No Fee claim, we could help. Simply call our team with your query and we’ll be glad to assist you.
Why Choose Legal Expert For Your Pharmacy Negligence Claim?
We know only too well that there are other companies in the UK that offer similar services to ours, but we do feel that by choosing to work with Legal Expert, you could be making a great choice. There are several reasons why we believe you could benefit from working with us on your Lloyds Pharmacy wrong medication claim.
- We offer free advice – If you have any questions about the personal injury claims process, or want general information on how wrong medication negligence claims are valued, we could offer this to you free of charge, and with no obligation to use our services.
- We could check your eligibility to claim – A simple, no-obligation consultation could give you valuable information about whether you could be eligible to claim compensation for the harm caused by the dispensing error.
- We could provide you with a lawyer – If you would like us to, and we think you could have a valid claim, we could then provide you with a No Win No Fee lawyer for your claim.
- We have helped many claimants successfully claim compensation for their injuries before, and we have experience in helping with a wide variety of claims. We could talk you through every aspect of making a claim, so you have all the information you need to move forward with a claim.
- We have fantastic feedback from our clients. Many of our reviews talk about our great customer service, knowledge and experience.
If you’d like to talk to us about any aspect of your claim, or the solicitors we could provide you with, we’d be delighted to help you.
Start Your Prescription Error Claim
Are you ready to begin your wrong medication negligence claim? Or do you want more information about being given the incorrect medicine, or the incorrect dosage of medication? Whatever dispensing error by a pharmacy you’ve suffered harm from, we’ll be happy to help you. Simply email info@legalexpert.co.uk, call 0800 073 8804, or live chat feature on our site. With no charge for advice or eligibility checks, and a friendly professional advisor ready to answer your questions any time of day, why not get in touch right away?
Essential Resources
Raising Concern About The Pharmacy – If you have concerns about your pharmacy, and would like to raise them, this page might offer some useful information.
Prescription Error (The Reduction Of) – Health.Org offers a publication on reducing prescription errors. You can read it here.
NHS Response To Media Reports – Here, you can read the NHS response to media reports of 1 in 20 prescriptions having an error.
Hospital Negligence Claims – Here, you can read our guide on hospital negligence. You may find it useful if the hospital pharmacy has been negligent.
Pharmacy Negligence – Here, you can read some general guidance on pharmacy negligence claims.
Boots Pharmacy Claims – If you have suffered negligence at Boots, this page might be of interest.
Other Guides You Can Read
- Cohens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims Guide
- Can You Sue For Prescription Errors By A Pharmacy?
- Paydens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims
- Day Lewis Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claim
Written by Jo
Edited by Melissa.
