When you are given a prescription for medication, the intention is to make you better. Unfortunately, when a mistake happens in the prescribing process the effects can be devastating. If a mistake has taken place with your medications, you may be able to bring a claim for medical negligence.
It is estimated that across England there are more than 200 million medication errors every year. These errors result in hundreds of avoidable deaths, and many other innocent people are left with symptoms or injuries from those errors which cost several millions pounds to treat.
If you’ve been affected by a medication error it’s important that steps are taken to put things right for you and to ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else.
Speak to one of our specialist medical negligence lawyers today to find out what we can do to help.
There are several types of medication errors that can occur, including:
• Prescribing the wrong medication
• Prescribing the wrong dose
• Dispensing the wrong medication
• Prescribing an unsafe medication
• Giving the wrong amount of medication
In order to bring a successful claim for a medication error, you will need to show an error on the part of whoever gave you the incorrect medicine, and that you have suffered some form of injury as a result of that error. The injury might only be modest, for example symptoms lasting a few hours. On the other hand, symptoms might be lifelong and have a devastating effect on your life; the effects of giving the wrong medication can also be fatal.
So if, for example, you have been prescribed paracetamol (a common painkiller) instead of atorvastatin (medication for high cholesterol) you may experience symptoms or problems that otherwise would have been kept under control by the atorvastatin. You may be able to bring a claim for medical negligence to recover compensation for those uncontrolled symptoms.
Claims can be made against chemists, pharmacies, Trusts, GPs, and many other organisations. Chemists in particular carry insurance to provide financial cover for this type of claim, so we would usually deal with an insurance company (rather than an individual pharmacist) when bringing a claim for a medication error.
In medical negligence, the law allows you three years to bring a claim. This three-year time period begins from the date of the alleged negligence. However, in some cases, the three-year period may start later. It is therefore best to contact one of our lawyers before determining whether you are out of time to bring a claim.
Compensation can vary widely, and depends on the circumstances of each case. Compensation may be modest if the symptoms you are claiming for clear up after a few days. At the other end of the scale, compensation could be worth more if you suffer problems which have a significant impact on your life.
This will depend on the circumstances of your case, but in every case we look to fund a claim in the most cost-effective way possible and choose the best method of funding for any individual client. The most common way of funding a claim is by a Conditional Fee Agreement, better known as a ‘No Win, No Fee’ Agreement, where you don’t pay anything if your claim is unsuccessful. We could also act for you under an existing policy of insurance that you might have.
We’ll discuss your concerns over the phone in the first instance, on a no obligation basis and at no charge to you. If a claim is brought, we’ll set up funding for your claim, and investigate it on your behalf. We’ll update you at each step of the way as a claim is made, and aim to recover the compensation you deserve in either an out-of-Court settlement or at Trial if necessary.
The first step will be to contact one of our specialist medical negligence lawyers to discuss your case.
Any solicitor can say they are experienced in what they do. We go the extra mile to demonstrate our expertise. Many of our lawyers have undertaken independent assessments of their knowledge and skills. Our accreditations give you the assurance that you are dealing with a specialist.
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