Wrong Prescription Negligence Claims | No Win No Fee

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 25th September 2023. If a doctor prescribes a medicine for you, they will have worked out the correct dosage for you, checked you weren’t allergic to any particular drug and checked it didn’t conflict with any other medicine you’re already taking.

If a pharmacist then goes on to dispense the wrong prescription, they could be in breach of the duty of care they owe to customers. As a result of the negligence, if you suffer in any way, you could be entitled to make wrong prescription negligence claims.

Therefore, in this guide, we look at how medication errors and prescription mistakes may occur along with the effects they may have on a person’s health. We’ll also look at when the pharmacist might be liable for your suffering.

Accident Claims UK is here to help, they can answer any pressing questions that you may have and provide free legal advice.

They’ll also assess any claim on a no-obligation basis. Furthermore, should your case be strong enough, they could pass your claim to one of our no win no fee solicitors. If you’re in a position to start your claim right away, please call 0800 073 8801 today.

Alternatively, to find out more about suing a pharmacy for the wrong prescription, please continue reading.

Wrong prescription negligence

Wrong prescription pharmacy negligence

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The Criteria For Wrong Prescription Claims

If a pharmacy gave you the wrong medication, or your GP issued an incorrect prescription, this could cause you to suffer avoidable harm. If this happens to you, you may be eligible to claim compensation. However, your case would have to meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Someone must have a duty of care towards you. All medical professionals, including pharmacists, have a duty of care to meet a minimum standard of care to patients. 
  2. There must have been a breach of that duty of care. This could happen if the pharmacist does not read the prescription properly, the wrong dosage is issued, or they dispense the wrong medication entirely, for example.
  3. The breach must have caused harm to you. This could be an overdose, underdose, allergic reaction, or drug interactions with other medications. 

This guide explains wrong prescription claims in more detail and how much compensation you could receive if you’re eligible to claim. The sections below explore the ways in which a prescription error could occur, and how you could be impacted. We also introduce our services and explain how we could connect you with a solicitor who could help you make a claim for compensation.

What Evidence Do You Need For Wrong Prescription Claims?

Settlements for a wrong prescription in the UK are more likely to be awarded if the claim is supported by evidence. You’ll need to prove that medical negligence has occurred as well as the extent of any harm that you have suffered as a result.

Examples of evidence you may use in a wrong prescription claim include:

  • Medical records that can show you have suffered an injury from being prescribed the wrong medication.
  • A photograph of the wrongly prescribed medication.
  • A diagnosis from a qualified medical professional.
  • Proof of any financial harm incurred because of the incident, such as bank statements or receipts of any expenses.

If you want free legal advice, get in touch with our advisors. They could connect you with one of our expert solicitors who could help you secure a medical negligence compensation payout.

Why May A Pharmacy Give You The Wrong Prescription?

There are a number of different reasons why you might receive the wrong prescription from your pharmacist. These include:

  • Not checking with the doctor.
    It could be possible to receive the wrong medication, dosage or instructions because the prescription wasn’t clear. In these cases, the pharmacist should clarify with the doctor. This may not happen due to time constraints or the doctor is too busy. Whatever the reason, this lack of communication could make the pharmacist liable for any suffering.
  • Lack of quality control.
    The pharmacist is the person who owes you a duty of care. It’s their job to ensure you receive the correct medication as per the prescription. Even though they have staff to dispense the medication, it’s their responsibility to ensure it’s correct. If they don’t have quality control systems in place, you could end up being given the wrong medication.
  • Cost-cutting.
    Whether a pharmacy is independent or part of a larger chain, profit is always important. To increase profit, cuts may need to be made including staff cuts. If that leaves the remaining staff under pressure to work harder, mistakes could happen leading to incorrect drugs or dosages being dispensed.

My Pharmacy Gave Me The Wrong Type Of Prescription

If you receive the wrong medicine entirely, you could be entitled to seek compensation. That could be the case if:

  • The medication caused adverse effects. This could be in the form of an allergic reaction or non-traumatic injuries such as fever, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.
  • Your underlying condition became worse because it wasn’t treated. Obviously, the doctor will have prescribed medication to cure your condition. The fact you were given the wrong drug could mean your illness is able to develop and your suffering increase.

If you’d like to talk to our specialists about wrong prescription negligence claims, please call our advice centre today.

I Was Given The Wrong Dosage Of My Prescription

When a doctor works out the dosage or strength of the medication, it is done so based on the NHS or manufacturer guidelines. It will take into account the age of the patient as well as their illness and any other contributing factors. If the wrong dosage is dispensed it could mean that:

  • Adverse side effects are caused if the dosage is too high.
  • The illness isn’t treated properly when the dosage is too low. This could mean that the illness becomes worse or the patient is in more pain.

Making a claim for the suffering caused by the wrong dosage could be possible if it caused any type of suffering. Please call an advisor to explain what happened. They’ll assess your claim for free and explain your options.

I Was Given Another Patient’s Prescription

This type of scenario could happen if you have a very similar name to another patient or simply because of human error that might be caused to time pressures.

The risk here could be huge. Depending on the medication you receive, you could:

  • Suffer an adverse drug reaction. Depending on the medication you receive, this could even be fatal.
  • Have your existing condition made worse because you didn’t receive the medication you needed.

There’s no excuse for this type of error. The pharmacy should have procedures to check they’re giving the right medication to the right patient. For instance, they should ask you to confirm your name and postcode when handing over the medication. Therefore, if you’ve suffered because you were given somebody else’s medication, you could be entitled to claim compensation. Call today if you’d like more information on wrong prescription negligence claims.

The Wrong Instructions Or Advice Was Given

When you receive medication from a pharmacist, it should be clearly labelled as to what it is and how it should be used. Having the wrong information on a label could have dramatic consequences. For instance, if you were supposed to take the medication, 3 times per day, but the label said, ‘take as required’, you could suffer because you didn’t take enough or you took the medication too often.

As with other types of mistakes, labelling and instructions should be checked by the pharmacist. It might be the case that staff create the label based on the GP’s prescription. If they make an error, it should be picked up by the pharmacist when double-checking. If they fail to spot the mistake, then they could be held liable for any suffering caused.

This could happen because the pharmacy is busy. It could also happen if the member of staff is well trusted by the pharmacist and they become too relaxed when checking labelling. Whatever the reason, if you’ve suffered because of poor labelling or advice from a pharmacist, you could potentially go on to claim against them.

What Duty Of Care Does A Pharmacy Have?

All medical professionals have a duty of care towards patient safety. This is true of pharmacists even though they do not treat patients. They have a responsibility for:

  • Making sure they supply of medicines is within the law.
  • Checking that the quality of medicine is suitable.
  • Advising on how to take medicines and any possible reactions.
  • Ensure the medicine is correct of the prescription.
  • Dispense the correct medication and dosage.

As well as those responsibilities, pharmacists also need to:

  • Supervise the preparation of medication before it’s given to patients.
  • Listen to patients’ symptoms and provide advice on medications sold in the pharmacy.
  • Offer services to patients such as blood pressure tests or cholesterol tests.

If you suffer as a result of a mistake by pharmacy staff, a claim would usually be against the pharmacists or pharmacy they work for themselves rather than an individual staff member. That’s because it’s the pharmacist and pharmacy who has the duty of care towards patients.

If you believe a pharmacist has breached their duty of care and caused you to suffer, please call our advisors for a free assessment of your claim.

Calculating Compensation Payouts In Wrong Prescription Claims

We’re now going to look at what compensation you could be awarded for suffering caused by the wrong prescription. The personal injury claims calculator table below shows figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document used by those involved with personal injury claims. It’s used to try and determine compensation amounts.

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Injury / Illness Compensation Amount Comments
Non-Traumatic Injury (i) £38,430 to
£52,500 		Illnesses that cause adverse side effects including severe toxicosis leading to acute pain, diarrhoea and fever. The patient will spend up to a few weeks in hospital and there will be a significant impact of life enjoyment and the ability to work.
Non-Traumatic Injury (ii) £9,540 to
£19,200 		Illnesses which lead to vomiting and diarrhoea which diminish over 2 to 4 weeks. There could be disturbance to bowel function, enjoyment of food and an impact on sex life over a few years.
Non-Traumatic Injury (iii) £3,950 to
£9,540 		Illnesses which result in significant discomfort, stomach cramps and fatigue. Some days may be spent in hospital, symptoms should last for no moer than a few weeks and complete recovery over a year or two.
Non-Traumatic Injury (iv) £910 to
£3,950 		Illnesses such as cramps, disabling pains and diarrhoea that continue for some weeks.

It’s important to note that settlements for the wrong prescription in England don’t just rely on the figures provided. There are a number of other elements to a claim which we’ll explain in the next section.

Our solicitors always try to ensure you receive the right level of compensation. To do so, they have to provide relevant information. That’s why they always use reports from independent doctors. These show what suffering was caused, the severity of any injuries, the initial impact and any long-term effects.

Special Damages, Expenses And Financial Losses In Wrong Prescription Claims

When you decide to sue a pharmacy for negligence, your solicitor can claim for general damages and also special damages. The general damages compensation covers pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by your suffering. The figures in the previous section’s table showed figures for general damages. Special damages are awarded to compensate for any financial losses you’ve incurred as a result of your suffering.

Here are some of the things you could claim for as special damages:

  • Lost Earnings.
    When you’ve suffered because you’ve been given the wrong medicine, you might need time off work to recover. You may also need to take time off for doctor’s appointments. In these cases, you could claim for any lost income caused by your time away from work. If your suffering affects your long-term ability to work, you could claim for future lost income too.
  • Medical Costs.
    In most cases, you’ll probably receive remedial treatment on the NHS for free. However, the cost of prescriptions and other medications can soon build up. Therefore, these costs could be included in your claim.
  • Travelling Expenses.
    Firstly, if you usually drive but are unable to because of your injuries, you could claim for the cost of any alternate travel arrangements. Also, if you have to travel to see the doctor or to visit the hospital for treatment, you could claim for fuel and parking costs.
  • Care Costs.
    It’s possible that while you’re recovering, you might need to be cared for. If so, you could claim for any associated costs. If you hired a professional carer, then their fees could be claimed back. Whereas, if a member of family cared for you, it might be possible to claim for their time. 

Remember to try and keep any associated receipts as they will help substantiate your claim.

How We Could Help After Being Harmed By A Wrong Prescription

Accident Claims UK are specialists in making negligence claims and could help you claim against a pharmacy. Here are some reasons we believe you should choose us to help you:

  • We have an excellent reputation in the industry. We’ve also received excellent feedback from previous clients.
  • Our team of advisors provide free legal advice and support.
  • The claims line is open 7-days a week, 24-hours a day.
  • Our team of solicitors have up to 30-years involvement in handling personal injury claims.
  • They will keep you updated throughout your claim. Also, they’ll try to act as swiftly as possible to try and prevent the case from dragging on.
  • Finally, our solicitors always provide the best case possible to try and ensure you receive a full and fair settlement.

If you need any further information about how Accident Claims UK could help with wrong prescription negligence claims, please call an advisor today.

My Pharmacist Gave Me The Wrong Medication – Get No Win No Fee Legal Help

If you are eligible to make a medical negligence claim after a pharmacy filled the wrong prescription for you, one of our solicitors may be able to help you with your case. Our solicitors have experience with various types of medical negligence claims and could help you gather evidence and build your case.

Additionally, one of our solicitors may offer to work on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement. With such an agreement, you won’t be required to pay your solicitor any fees for them to begin working on your claim. Furthermore, you won’t need to pay any service fees to your solicitor if the claim fails.

Should your claim result in compensation, your No Win No Fee solicitor will take a small legally-capped percentage of your payout, known as a success fee.

To see if you could be eligible to work with one of our medical negligence solicitors after a pharmacy gives you the wrong dosage of your medication, you can contact our advisors today. Our team is available 24/7 to help answer any questions you may have, such as ‘Could I make a claim if a pharmacist gave me the wrong medication?’

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Supporting Information On Wrong Prescription Claims

You have now come to the end of our guide about claiming for suffering caused by the wrong prescription. Below are some more of our guides and also some external links too.

You have reached the end of this article about wrong prescription negligence claims. For free legal advice on your options, why not call our team today?