Cohens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims Guide

Pharmacists, like any other medical professional, have a duty of care to provide the correct level of consideration and attention to their customers or patients. Pharmacists undergo years of training to qualify and their knowledge of medication is extensive. If they fail to provide the level of care expected of them and someone becomes ill or injured due to their negligence, such as a Cohens chemist giving out the wrong medication, they may be liable to pay for damages should a prescription negligence claim be brought against them. 

If you or someone you love has suffered because your pharmacy made a mistake, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim. Legal Expert has a specialist panel of medical negligence and personal injury solicitors that could help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact Legal Expert on 0800 073 8804 for more information, help and guidance.

Select A Section

• A Guide To Negligence Claims Against Cohens Chemist
• What Is Negligence By A Chemist?
• Pharmacist Negligence Statistics
• Causes Of Pharmacy And Chemist Medication Errors
• Types Of Errors Made By Chemists At A Pharmacy
• How You Could Be Harmed By Being Given The Wrong Medication
• How To Prevent Harmful Negligence By A Chemist
• Wrong Medication Compensation Claims Against Cohens Chemist
• Additional Damages Which You May Be Able To Claim
• No Win, No Fee Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claims
• Why Choose Legal Expert To Handle Your Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claim?
• Start A Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claim
• Essential Resources on Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claims

A Guide To Negligence Claims Against Cohens Chemist

If you are a victim of chemist negligence in dispensing medication, you may be interested in finding out more information regarding making a medical negligence claim. Below, you’ll find lots of guidance regarding pharmacist negligence cases and is full of information such as what classes as chemist negligence, pharmacist professional negligence statistics, what might cause pharmacy medication errors and the different types of pharmacy errors, how a medication error may cause you harm and how chemist negligence may be prevented. The guide also includes information regarding what additional damages may be claimed for, how much compensation you could be awarded, how to start a claim for a chemist breaching their duty of care, and also how using a No Win, No Fee solicitor to run your claim for you could be advantageous.

What Is Negligence By A Chemist?

A negligent act by a chemist occurs when they make an error or mistake that could have been prevented. If a chemist’s negligent act results in someone coming to harm, it’s possible a medical negligence claim could be made depending on the circumstances surrounding the event and if liability can be proven.

There are a variety of ways in which a chemist could make a negligent error resulting in harm, such as dispensing the wrong medication to what is written on a prescription, giving the wrong strength of a drug, or labelling the drug with the incorrect dosage, for example. Although in some cases the victim may suffer minor side effects, sometimes a chemist’s mistake can result in serious harm or in extreme cases, death. 

Depending on the type of error that has occurred, the victim may not have a high enough strength of a drug they have been prescribed, therefore not providing the desired effect, or they may have too high a strength which could cause damage to their body. It may be that they have been given the entirely wrong medication which may result in all kinds of problems, or perhaps they have been given someone else’s prescription by mistake. 

Symptoms of medication errors may include drowsiness and tiredness, nausea, lightheadedness, dizziness or cramps. There is also the chance the victim could suffer an allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis, which is life-threatening.

If you have become ill or injured due to Cohens Pharmacy negligence, such as a dispensing error by a Cohens chemist, for example, you could possibly be eligible to make a claim for compensation.

Pharmacist Negligence Statistics

In 2017, a survey identified that an estimated 237 million medication errors occurred in the NHS in England, with 66 million likely being medically significant. Errors that were avoidable cost the NHS approximately £98.5 million and were thought to be the cause of approximately 700 deaths that year.

The statistics and more information regarding this research can be found here.

Causes Of Pharmacy And Chemist Medication Errors

There are varied circumstances in which a medication error may occur in a pharmacy that can be put down to the negligence of the pharmacist. Pharmacists are in charge of making sure all medications dispensed are correct and given to the right person. They also have a responsibility to question any possible prescription errors with the prescribing GP, and to also be aware of any possible negative medication interactions of medicines prescribed to a person. Pharmacists are often asked for advice by people for certain health complaints and as part of their professional duty, they need to decide to either recommend an over the counter remedy or know when to refer the person to their GP for a medical examination and proper diagnosis.

Pharmacy medication errors may be the result of:

• Problems with understanding the handwriting on the prescription.
• Errors in supervising other staff, such as pharmacy dispensers. 
• Computer errors.
• Failing to notice a prescription error, such as a wrong dosage for a particular age, for example.
• An inexperienced pharmacist failing to notice dangerous drug interactions.
• Rushing when under pressure.
• Tiredness resulting in silly, but potentially dangerous mistakes.
• Failing to check any prescribing oddities with the GP before dispensing the medication.
• Failing to date check medication stock regularly.

Pharmacy error consequences can range from minor to very severe and could even be fatal.  If a person had been prescribed medication for a minor health complaint, they could end up seriously ill if the chemist makes a dispensing error of some kind, such as giving them the wrong medication entirely or giving them the wrong strength of medication. Regardless of what caused the error, if the patient has suffered ill health due to Cohens chemist negligence, they may be entitled to claim compensation for their suffering.

If you or someone you love has been ill because of a prescription error, contact Legal Expert on the number at the top of this page and we will be able to help and assist you in determining whether you have a valid claim.

Find out more about the legal duties of a pharmacist by clicking here.

Types Of Errors Made By Chemists At A Pharmacy

There are various types of errors that could be made by a chemist in a pharmacy if they are negligent in their duty of care. These may include:

• Mistakes In Administration – Administration errors are most likely to be made by an inexperienced or junior pharmacy staff member. However, a senior pharmacist will be in charge and ultimately responsible for making sure any errors either do not take place or are corrected before any medicines are given to the patient.
• Dispensing the Wrong Medication – This is where the patient is given the wrong medication to what they have been prescribed by a doctor. It may be that they have been given the wrong container of medicine, or put the wrong medicine into a container. Dispensing the wrong medication may mean that the wrong drug entirely has been given, or that the right drug was given but the wrong strength of the drug was given.
• Dispensing Incorrect Instructions – By UK law, any medication dispensed in a pharmacy needs to be labelled. The labels should state the patient’s name, the date it was dispensed, the name of the drug, its strength and form, and the dosage. Labelling is important and needs to be correct, otherwise, the patient could either take the wrong medication by mistake, take the wrong amount, or take at the wrong time which potentially could see them take too little or too much.
• Using Ingredients Which Are Damaged – All chemists should routinely date check stock and remove any damaged or out of date stock. Damaged stock may mean that the medicine is ineffective and therefore will not have the desired effect on the person needing it, which may result in their health getting worse.
• Wrongly Mixing Ingredients Or Prescriptions – If ingredients when making up a medicine are mixed wrongly, the medicine may become either stronger or weaker than it should have been. For example, when mixing liquid antibiotics, water is added but if the wrong amount of water is added then the antibiotics may be too weak and therefore ineffective, or too strong which could cause further problems. Another error could be prescriptions being mixed up such as dispensing two different medicines but confusing the strength or dosage between them.
• Mistakingly mixing ingredients or medicines may result in minor problems in some cases, but it can also result in more serious problems resulting in the victim becoming seriously ill or even dying. Certain drugs should not be taken together or at similar times as they can cause adverse reactions in the body, but a pharmacist should be aware of this and therefore advise accordingly or even speak with the GP in certain circumstances if necessary.

Pharmacists owe a duty of care to give medications that are prescribed and dispensed correctly to prevent a mistake being made. If they fail in their duty of care and someone becomes ill or injured, they could possibly be held responsible. Cohens Pharmacy negligence will not always lead to a  claim, but if you have been injured through a dispensing error by a Cohens chemist within the medical negligence claims time limit, which in most cases is 3 years (the same as the personal injury claims time limit), it would be a good idea to speak with a medical negligence lawyer to find out if you have a valid claim to be made.

How You Could Be Harmed By Being Given The Wrong Medication

Cohens chemist negligence could result in several consequences, ranging from mild and short-lived to more severe and possibly long lasting health problems, and sometimes even death. Pharmacy error consequences may not only affect the victim physically but can also affect them psychologically and financially if it has caused the victim to have to take time away from work. 

Some errors, fortunately, may only cause effects that are barely noticeable or that are fairly minor and only short-term with full recovery after a few hours or days. However, some could result in the victim suffering an adverse reaction, an allergic reaction or cause them to develop an accidental addiction, or to unknowingly overdose. Some of these more severe consequences could result in the victim suffering on-going health problems. Allergic reactions can also range from mild to severe. Allergic reactions when severe can develop into anaphylaxis which, even with treatment, can sometimes result in the victim losing their life.

If you or a loved one has been affected by Cohens Pharmacy negligence and suffered, as a result, contact Legal Expect and speak to our panel of medical negligence solicitors who can advise you on the options available to you regarding pharmacy error compensation.

How To Prevent Harmful Negligence By A Chemist

Although we should be able to trust medical professionals who prescribe and dispense our medication to give us the correct treatment, whether we are taking medication long-term or just a short-term dose, human error is always a possibility. Some steps can be taken to protect ourselves against any potential wrong medication negligence, such as:

• By double-checking that the name and dosage of the medicine match what was written on the prescription.
• Always check that your name is on every label of every medicine you receive and that every medicine has a label on it. If there is a label missing, or your name doesn’t appear, then ask the chemist to check what they have given you.
• It is also a good idea to check with the pharmacist the dosage of your medicine. For example, if it is labelled ‘take two tablets daily’, check whether this means two together each day, or one in the morning and one at night for example. Check if the medicine can be taken at the same time as another medicine, or whether it should be taken on an empty stomach or not, and so on.
• If you are taking any other medications, check with the chemist if it is okay to take both, or if there are any potential problems with this. If you regularly get your prescriptions from the same chemist, they should have your medication history on file and be already aware of other medications so they can check beforehand.
• If you are on a particular medication long-term, such as for blood pressure or asthma, for example, you can usually re-order your medication without seeing your GP. However, you should make sure that you re-visit your GP for a review when recommended.

Wrong Medication Compensation Claims Against Cohens Chemist

If you or someone you love has been injured due to Cohens Pharmacy negligence and you are thinking of making a prescription negligence claim, you may be wondering how much compensation you could be awarded if your claim is a success. At this stage, we are unable to precisely predict the amount you might receive. Each case is unique and many contributing factors determine the final amount awarded. However, we can show in the table below some of the injury potential compensation amounts. These figures are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, a legal publication used by solicitors and the courts to value claims.:

If you have any questions regarding compensation award amounts,  speak to an advisor at Legal Expert who will be able to help.

Additional Damages Which You May Be Able To Claim

If you’re awarded a settlement package, you may find it’s split into two heads of claim: general damages and special damages. General damages compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity inflicted by the injury or illness. General damages estimates are covered in the compensation calculator section above.

Special damages are designed to compensate you for any financial losses or expenses incurred as a result of the injuries or illness. Some examples of the things that can be claimed include:

• Medical Expenses – If the claimant has had to pay any medical costs due to their injury, these can be accounted for in the claim.
• Travel Expenses – As with medical expenses, any travel expenses that the claimant has needed to pay as a result of their injury should be included in their claim. These also include any costs of necessary vehicle adaptations due to their injury.
• Care Costs – If the claimant has required extra help around the home whilst recovering, they can include these costs also.
• Loss of Earnings – The claimant can include any earnings they have lost due to their injury as well as any predicted future losses according to their paygrade.

No Win, No Fee Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claims

Making a medical negligence claim can be stressful. They are often complex and can take time to come to a conclusion. For someone with no legal knowhow or experience, it can be extremely daunting and the slightest error could potentially result in the case being lost. Therefore having a legal team to take charge of a medical negligence claim is usually the safest thing to do to ensure the best chance of success.

 If you chose to proceed with a claim through Legal Expert, our panel of medical negligence solicitors will give you the option of entering into a No Win, No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The CFA is designed to offer claimants financial protection and the confidence to pursue justice. If you sign a CFA with a solicitor from our panel, you will not have to pay any fees upfront, nor will you have to pay any fees during your claim either. And if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay any of the fees your solicitor has incurred in pursuing your case. 

If your claim is successful, your solicitor may seek a small contribution towards their costs. This is known as a ‘success fee’ and would be deducted from the compensation awarded at the end of the claim. Don’t worry, the success fee is legally capped and will be confirmed with you before the claim begins.

Why Choose Legal Expert To Handle Your Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claim?

We believe that choosing Legal Expert to help support you through this stressful time would be a wise choice. Not only do we offer one of the most competitive and professional services, we also provide:

• A free consultancy session;
• Choice of experienced and expert medical negligence lawyers;
• Free local medical;
• Free legal advice;
• No Win, No Fee policy;
• Fantastic track record and client feedback;
• Professional, honest, and reliable members of the Legal Expert team available to help you throughout the process

At Legal Expert, we treat our client’s cases with the utmost importance, from start to finish, and always strive to get the highest amount of compensation that we can for them in an efficient and timely manner.

Call us today to find out if you have a valid claim and let us help you to get the compensation you deserve.

Start A Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claim

Starting a claim is made simple if you choose Legal Expert to make your claim on your behalf. Just contact us on 0800 073 8804 and you will be able to speak to a member of our team to first determine if you have a valid claim and if so, we can then get to work to secure your pharmacy error compensation.

Essential Resources on Cohens Chemist Wrong Medication Claims

NHS Medical Negligence Compensation Claims – If the NHS has been negligent causing you to be injured, there is some useful information in this guide.

Wrong Medication Claims And Your Rights – Here is some information regarding your rights if you have been given the wrong medication.

Doctor Prescribing Wrong Dosage Negligence – This guide shows what you should do if your doctor has prescribed the wrong medication.

General Pharmaceutical Advice – Here you can find helpful information and advice on what to do if your pharmacy has made an error.

The Health Foundation – Information regarding reducing prescribing errors.

NICE Prescribing Errors Information – National Institute For Health and Care Excellence prescribing error information.

Other Guides You Can Read

• Can You Sue For Prescription Errors By A Pharmacy?
• Paydens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims
• Day Lewis Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claim
• Claiming If A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication

Written by Howe

Edited by Billing