Claiming Compensation For Prescription Error

Prescription error compensation guide

This guide will explain how to claim prescription error compensation. When a doctor prescribes medication to us, we trust that our prescription is correct. Likewise, we trust the pharmacist that dispenses our prescription to give us the right medication. Unfortunately, a prescription error can harm a patient. Can you sue for a medication error? Throughout this guide, we will give lots of insight into this question.

This guide will look at what happens if a pharmacist makes a mistake. And we will look at what happens if a doctor gives you the wrong prescription. After that, we will explain how to claim compensation for prescription negligence.

If you have experienced injuries or your medical condition was made worse by a prescription error, please call Public Interest Lawyer’s claims helpline. We can assign our panel of solicitors to work on your claim.

Call us on 0800 408 7825 for your free claims consultation.
Or contact us directly using our online claims form.

Select A Section

What Is A Prescription Error Compensation Claim?
What Types Of Prescription Error Compensation Claims Can You Make?
How Long After The Prescription Error Could I Still Claim?
How To Claim Prescription Error Compensation
Prescription Error Compensation Calculator
Speak To Us About Your No Win No Fee Claim

What Is A Prescription Error Compensation Claim?

Those who are medically trained have a duty of care to the patients they agree to treat. When medical professionals fail to uphold this duty it can mean that their patients suffer. Prescription errors can happen at different stages. For example, a doctor could prescribe the wrong medication, or a pharmacist could dispense the incorrect medication even the wrong dosage can be considered a prescription error.

If a doctor gives a patient the wrong type of medication, this mistake may harm them. For example, a patient may have a severe allergic reaction to a drug they are known to be allergic to. If a doctor failed to check the patient’s notes for allergies before prescribing the medication this may allow the patient to make a medical negligence claim for suffering caused by the allergic reaction.

Or, if a patient has the wrong amount of medication, they may overdose. Therefore the medical mistake could put the patient’s life at risk. Or the patient may experience organ damage, such as kidney injuries or permanent brain damage. Likewise, if a patient experiences an underdose of medication, the medicine may not have the desired effect. Therefore the medical error would prolong the patient’s illness.

To be eligible to make a prescription error compensation claim the onus is on you to prove that firstly the medical professional who treated you was negligent. Then it would need to be determined that this negligence caused you to suffer harm that could have been avoided.

To have your prescription error compensation case evaluated for free today call our team of expert advisors. Where they can see that your case may be awarded compensation they can connect you with specialists solicitors. If the solicitor decides to take on your case it will be under No Win No Fee terms.

What Types Of Prescription Error Compensation Claims Can You Make?

Errors made in the prescribing or dispensing of medication can mean a patient suffers more than they should have. If the dosage is too high the patient could suffer an overdose, if too low their condition can worsen through lack of adequate treatment. Being prescribed or dispensed with the incorrect medication can mean your illness does not get treated or an entirely new condition develops as a side effect of the wrong medication.

Medical negligence can occur when a medical professional deviates from professional standards and allows their standards of care to fall below what is expected. Clinical or medical negligence could cause harm to the patient and they could go on to suffer much worse than their initial condition would have caused.

Below we are going to look at scenarios of prescription errors;

How Can A Doctor Make A Prescription Error?

The doctor over or under prescribes the correct dosage of medication.
A doctor fails to check medical records and prescribes the patient with a medication they have a known allergy to.
A medical professional gives the entirely wrong medication to a patient and this causes an adverse reaction.

Pharmacists dispense medication to patients. Likewise, a nurse or carer may administer drugs to a patient in a hospital or care home. Let’s look at more cases where a prescription error could occur.

How Can A Pharmacist, Nurse Or Carer Make A Prescription Error?

A pharmacist dispenses the wrong dosage of medication.
On the other hand, the pharmacist gives the patient someone else’s prescription.
The pharmacist harms a patient by giving them the wrong medication.
A pharmacy mixes up different types of drugs, causing a drug interaction. A drug interaction occurs when medications are mixed and have a harmful effect.
A nurse or carer administers the wrong drugs to a patient in a hospital or a care home.

How Long After The Prescription Error Could I Still Claim?

After a medical negligence incident, how long do you have to start a prescription error claim? According to the Limitation Act 1980, you will have three years from the day the medical negligence occurred to begin your claim. Or the claims time limit will begin the day you connect your illness to negligence. This is known as the date of knowledge

However, there are some exceptions to the medical negligence claims time limit. Firstly if a child is injured, they can claim compensation after their eighteenth birthday. The claimant will have three years to begin their compensation claim from this date. If your injury took place more than three years ago, call our claims helpline to see if you can claim compensation.

How To Claim Prescription Error Compensation

If you wish to claim prescription error compensation, we can help you. Call Public Interest Lawyers today, and our advisors will review your case. This is free of charge. They will also provide you with free legal advice and list the options you have for claiming compensation. Where your claim is deemed valid they could offer to connect you with a specialist solicitor.

To make a prescription error compensation claim, you will need to provide evidence to prove the following:

Firstly, the healthcare professional owes you a duty of care; all healthcare practitioners owe their patients a duty of care.
Secondly, this duty was breached causing a doctor to make a prescription error, or a pharmacist made a dispensing error.
And finally, that the negligence harmed you.

What Evidence Do I Need To Support A Medical Negligence Claim?

You can help your legal team collect evidence to support your medical negligence compensation claim. First of all, you can keep a diary of your symptoms after receiving the wrong medication. You can also collect the following items to use as evidence:

Your medical records
Your medical report from your medical assessment appointment
A copy of the prescription
Please keep the original medication bottle or package
Photographs of any visible symptoms you have suffered

Prescription Error Compensation Calculator

If you wish to claim prescription error compensation, you may be wondering how much money you can get for medical negligence. If your medical negligence claim is successful general damages and special damages will make up the settlement. We have used guidelines from the Judicial College to create the compensation table. The amounts of compensation in this table reflect how much you could claim in general damages.

Type Of Injury	Damages	Comments
Psychological Injury – Moderate (c)	£5,500 to £17,900	The person has a good outlook for recovery and will already have made a good degree of recovery by the time of trial.
Infertility – Male (d)	£52,620 to £66,970	The claimant is a young man who does not have children, there are no aggravating features and the sterility is an uncomplicated case.
Infertility – Female (d)	£6,190 to £11,820	Cases of infertility in a woman where the person would not have had further children.
Kidney – Damage Serious (c)	£28,880 to £42,110	One kidney has been lost and the other is unaffected.
Bowel – Damage (d)	£41,850 to £65,440	A severe injury to the abdomen which impairs function and where there is need for the person to have a temporarily colostomy which could restrict diet and leave scarring.
Bladder – Damage (b)	Up to £132,040	Total loss of bladder control and function.
Deafness – Total Hearing Loss One Ear	£29,380 to £42,730	If dizziness, tinnitus or headaches are present people may be awarded damages at the higher end of the bracket.
Illness/Damage Resulting from Non-traumatic Injury	£36,060 to £49,270	Severe toxicosis, hospital admission, stomach pain and cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Illness/Damage Resulting from Non-traumatic Injury	£8,950 to £18,020	Serious poisoning, hospital admission, stomach pain and cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Brain Damage – Moderate (ii)	£85,150 to £140,870	As well as the removed or reduced ability to work and the person having a risk of epilepsy, there will be an intellectual deficit.

Please be aware you may receive more or less compensation than we have included in this table.

The table contains general damages, compensating for any physical harm you have suffered. However, the table does not include special damages you may be entitled to receive. Special damages will compensate you for any out of pocket expenses caused by your injuries. For example, you can claim special damages to pay for any medical costs or travel costs because you were injured.

Speak To Us About Your No Win No Fee Claim

If you have decided that you want to use a solicitor for your prescription error compensation claim have you thought about how you might fund them?

A No Win No Fee solicitor offers their service with no upfront solicitor fees. Instead, they will deduct a success fee from your compensation payout if you win your claim. Therefore, there is less financial risk involved. You will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (a CFA) to formalise the No Win No Fee claims process.

We can help you if you wish to claim compensation for a prescription error. Please get in touch with us today using the details below.