Could I Claim Prescription Errors Compensation?
Did you know that prescription errors compensation could potentially be possible if you were given the wrong medication? A pharmacy or hospital owe their patients a duty of care. As part of this duty, they must provide you with a certain level of care. If medical negligence led to you being provided with the incorrect medication and this caused you harm, you could be eligible to pursue a claim for prescription errors compensation. This article explains how you could claim damages for a mistake like this.
Prescription errors compensation claims guide
This guide aims to provide the information that you need to start a claim. However, if you have any questions on prescription error compensation as you read the sections below, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:
- You can call us on 0800 073 8804
- Or email at Legal Expert
- Learn how a panel of personal injury specialists might assess your claim by using the ‘live support’ option to the bottom of this screen
Select A Section
- What Medication Errors Could You Claim For?
- What Are The Effects Of Prescription Errors?
- Limitation Periods For Prescription Errors Compensation Claims
- Am I Eligible To Make Prescription Errors Compensation Claim?
- Calculate How Much Your Prescription Errors Compensation Payout Could Be
- Get Help From Our No Win No Fee Claims Team
What Medication Errors Could You Claim For?
A medication error is when a pharmacy, GP, nurse or doctor fails to prescribe, dispense, administer, or monitor the right medication to a patient. Prescribing errors can involve:
- Over or under-prescribing a medication
- Prescribing the wrong dose
- Omitting to prescribe a medication
- Prescribing the wrong medication or at the wrong time
- Incorrectly diagnosing a medicinal need
- Using an unauthorised drug or branded version as a substitute
- Failing to check compatibility with other medications
- Storing medications incorrectly which renders them harmful
- Mixing prescriptions or imputing patient information incorrectly (administrative errors)
- A hospital or care home administering the wrong prescription medication to a resident
Doctors and hospital staff have a duty of care to perform their role with the same degree of competence expected of any other typical practitioner. Also, pharmacists are bound by the Medicines Act 1968.
Furthermore, healthcare providers report ‘patient safety incidents’ (PSI) if they accidentally (or deliberately) administer the wrong medicine and the patient becomes sick.
Not all medication errors will qualify a patient to claim medical negligence compensation. Call our claims team today for free legal advice and have your case assessed with no obligation.
What Are The Effects Of Prescription Errors?
The effects of prescription errors can range from no side effects at all to extreme and life-threatening depending on the patient. In addition to preventing the original health problem from being properly treated, wrong medication can create new health problems. Adverse drug reactions can include:
- Skin rashes and irritation
- Nausea and drowsiness
- Confusion and visual disturbances
- Mental health problems
- Vomiting and stomach pain/cramps
- Organ damage
- Anaphylactic shock or death
Symptoms such as this may take time to present themselves. In view of this, it’s important to raise any concerns about your medication as soon as you feel something is wrong.
How Many People Are Impacted By Medication Errors?
According to the British Medical Journal approximately 237 million medication errors are made in England every year. Researchers calculated that “avoidable” mistakes with medication costs the NHS over £98 million every year and over 1700 lives. Other statistics state that:
- 54% of errors happen at the point of administration
- 1 in 5 (21%) were at the point of prescribing
- Dispensing errors account for 16%
- Error rates are highest in care homes (42%)
- 3 out of 4 medication errors (72%) are minor
- 1 in 4 (just under 26%) have the potential to cause moderate harm
- In addition to this, 2% could result in serious harm
Source : https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/237-million-medication-errors-made-every-year-in-england/
Limitation Periods For Prescription Errors Compensation Claims
There is a three-year compensation time limit for making a medical negligence claim. This starts from the date of your injury or the date of awareness that medical negligence caused you harm and applies to NHS or private healthcare givers.
These periods vary for children or those who lack the capacity to represent themselves. In cases such as this, you can claim on their behalf as a litigation friend.
Am I Eligible To Make Prescription Errors Compensation Claim?
If a pharmacist, GP, nurse or doctor incorrectly prescribed or administered the wrong medication because they did not adhere to professional standards, it is possible to seek damages for any harm caused. How can prescription errors occur:
- Not listening to the patient therefore misdiagnosing the symptoms
- Not checking that the medication prescribed does not affect other medication
- Issued an adult dose to a child
- Failed to properly consult patient notes which led to an allergic reaction
- Told to take too much which caused an overdose
With this in mind, it’s necessary at the start to be clear who could be responsible for the prescription error (pharmacy staff or GP, for example). Then you can look at how the duty of care owed to you may have been breached and how it may have prompted your injuries. Call our team to have your claim for prescription errors compensation evaluated for free.
Calculate How Much Your Prescription Errors Compensation Payout Could Be
Medical negligence settlements can include general and special damages. General damages reflect the pain and suffering experienced as a result of your injuries. As well as this, they take into account the impact wrong medication problems have had on your quality of life.
Below are some figures from the Judicial College Guidelines which is a document often used to help value compensation claims.
| type of injury | how severe? | Judicial College Guideline award bracket | supporting notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| brain | less severe brain damage (d) | £14,380 to £40,410 | poor concentration, mood issues and interference with normal life |
| skin | dermatitis of the hand (c) | Up to £3,710 | short-lived rashes or skin irritation |
| eyesight | minor eye injuries (h) | £3,710 to £8,200 | pain or temporary visual impairment |
| chest injuries | heart and lung damage | £94,470 to £140,870 | Removal of a lung(s) and damage affecting the heart. |
| psychiatric | moderate to severe | £17,900 to £51,460 | illness that prevents a return to work |
| psychiatric | moderate in nature | £5,500 to £17,900 | improvements have already begun |
| respiratory | lung disease (a) | £94,470 to £127,530 | progressive disability leading to premature death |
| respiratory | lung disease (c) | £51,420 to £65,710 | prolonged coughing and restriction of activities |
| respiratory | lung disease (d) | £29,380 to £51,460 | breathing issues and impact on work or social life |
| non traumatic-injury | Severe toxicosis | £36,060 to £49,270 | requiring hospital admission |
Each case varies when calculating clinical negligence claims, therefore please note these amounts represent guidelines only.
Special damages for prescription errors compensation claims
Special damages are calculated separately based on proof. They allow you to seek compensation for any past and future financial losses associated with your injury. They can only be claimed if you qualify for general damages. Therefore, this could include:
- Lost earnings
- Additional care costs
- Travel expenses to hospital or work
- Medical expenses
- Child care provision
- Any essential adaptations to your lifestyle
It’s necessary to provide evidence of these monetary losses, such as payslips or receipts. A clinical negligence solicitor can also help you calculate future or predicted costs that could arise from the repercussions of a prescription error. So why not call our team to see what you could include as part of your prescription errors compensation claim?
Get Help From Our No Win No Fee Claims Team
In conclusion, at Legal Expert, we offer a service whereby you can connect with immediate expert help. Your claim could begin in minutes with one simple phone call in which you could be connected to a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor.
When a medical negligence solicitor works under a No Win No Fee agreement, there is no requirement to pay upfront fees. Successful cases need a maximum fee of 25%. Furthermore, should the case not win, there are no fees to pay to your solicitors at all.
Learn more by getting in touch with us on the contact details below. Find out how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help your medical negligence claim.
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- legalexpert.co.uk/claim-online
- Use the ‘live support’ option to the bottom right of this screen
Quick Medical Negligence Links
Thank you for reading this guide. Below are further resources that can assist your prescription errors compensation claim:
- More information about GP error prescription compensation payouts
- Wrong medication claims against a pharmacy
- Or details about compensation for negligent treatment in a hospital
- Read more about patient safety alerts and reporting a medication mistake from the NHS
- Details on how medication errors should be reported to the Care Quality Commission
- Find out if you could sue a hospital for a hospital-acquired infection with our helpful guide.
