Pharmacy Claims
When a GP prescribes a certain medication, most people visit a pharmacy to collect that medication, armed with their prescription for the selected tablets or medicine that will hopefully help improve their symptoms. On rare occasions, a patient might be given the wrong medication due to pharmacy errors, and this can have serious and lasting consequences.
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On the face of it, dispensing medication at a pharmacy should be relatively straightforward. However, sometimes, mistakes at the pharmacy can be made which can end up being rather serious, leading to a range of potential side effects and problems from taking improper medicines. Perhaps worse still, is that a wrong prescription not only means taking medication not intended for you, but that you won’t be receiving and taking the medication which was prescribed to help your symptoms. This can mean your condition getting worse, when it should be getting better. What started off as simple human error can and often does have quite serious implications. If your condition worsens as a result of a prescription error, or from side effects of incorrect medication, then this can cause pain, suffering and may result in time off work, which itself may have financial implications.
How can we help?
Taking on any medical organisation can seem daunting and difficult, especially as many pharmacies are large chains and well-known brands and companies. It’s easy to feel a little intimidated.
At Patient Claim Line, we are not worried about taking on any organisation that has been negligent, regardless of who they are or the size of the company. Chances are we have taken them on before. If any person or company has been negligent in their actions, you have the right to make a claim. We will take them to task and ensure you receive the compensation you are entitled to.
We have supported many people who have suffered following a pharmaceutical mistake. Here, you can read about how a patient was given the wrong medication, which resulted in a hospitalisation and a further six months of avoidable pain and suffering.
What can I claim against a pharmacy for?
When it comes to making a compensation claim following a pharmacy error, there are a number of things you could claim for, including:
- Incorrect mixing of a prescription medication
- Dispensing the wrong prescription
- Dispensing an incorrect dose of a medication
- Using damaged ingredients within the prescription
- Giving incorrect instructions on the use of prescription medication
- Incorrect labelling of a prescription
- Vaccination error – where a flu jab, or other vaccination, has been given in the incorrect site of the arm
Am I eligible to make a claim?
Pharmacists are fully-qualified, trained professionals. They are responsible for providing you with the correct medication. They and the company have a duty to ensure this is done correctly. If you have been left suffering from symptoms either as a result of taking the wrong medication, or not being able to take your correct medication, then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
Patient Claim Line is here to advise you on this.
The best thing to do is get in touch with us and we will be able to advise you very quickly whether or not there is a claim. It costs you nothing to find out if you have a case, and all our claims are dealt with by specialist medical negligence solicitors, on a strictly no win no fee basis.
What is a pharmacy error?
Broadly speaking, a pharmacy error is when a pharmacist makes a mistake when prescribing, dispensing, or administrating medication that leads to adverse consequences to the patient. These errors can include prescribing the wrong dosage or quantity, mixing up prescriptions and even prescribing a contraindicated drug.
What happens if a pharmacy gives you the wrong medication in the UK?
The role of a pharmacist is an important part of your treatment process. As medical professionals, they should ensure that you are getting the best possible treatment while under their supervision and they have a duty of care to ensure that you are at least treated to a reasonable standard. This means that if there has been a dispensing error and you have been given the wrong medication by your pharmacy, then you could make a claim for compensation. Receiving the wrong medication may result in your initial condition going untreated, while the new medication could have a negative impact on your health.
How do pharmacy claims work?
When your GP prescribes you a certain medication, in most cases you will need to visit a pharmacy to collect it. While this process is often straightforward and most patients receive the correct prescription, there are instances where negligence can occur and patients suffer due to pharmacy and prescription errors. This can not only result in patients not receiving the treatment they require, but it can also lead to permanent long term damage. If you have suffered avoidable harm due to a pharmacy error, then you could be entitled to make a claim.
How much compensation could I get for a pharmacy claim?
If you’ve been the victim of a pharmacy error, the amount of compensation you can claim will be made up of several elements. Things such as general health damages, medical expenses, care costs and loss of earnings are all taken into consideration, while the severity of your condition will also have an impact. For a more accurate estimate, speak to a member of our legal team. Together, we can identify the severity of your claim and get you the compensation you’re entitled to.
Meet the team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence Serious Injury
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
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Not just lawyers — medical negligence experts
Patient Claim Line was established in 2014 and consists of a team of medical lawyers specialising in medical negligence and misdiagnosis claims.
At Patient Claim Line we have more than 100 solicitors with combined experience of over 400 years and they will work on your behalf to achieve the best result possible for you.
It's not enough to use a solicitor who sometimes covers medical negligence. You need someone who knows this area through and through. That is what the solicitors here at Patient Claim Line do. They deal exclusively in this area of law and are experts in the field.
Meet the medical negligence team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence Serious Injury
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
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Christian Beadell
Head of Medical Negligence
Christian is Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line and has specialised in clinical negligence claims since qualifying in 1998; having dealt with a wide variety of claims throughout his career. He is also featured in the Legal 500 as a recommended claimant solicitor in the North West.
Christian qualified as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in clinical negligence. From 2010 onward he has had a particular interest in gynaecological and urogynaecological claims, having represented several hundred claimants in the George Rowland Litigation against the Liverpool Women’s and Aintree Hospitals. This investigated the treatment given to women in the Merseyside area over several decades, and in particular focused on the introduction and development of mesh into the UK in both the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The development of this area involved pursuing claims under a unique ADR protocol with the NHS and also looking to develop the current thinking on the valuation of compensation for complex urinary symptoms. He has successfully recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on behalf of my clients.
Christian was also involved in setting up and chairing a Claimant Support Group for those involved in the Rowland litigation, which provided a discussion forum for the many women who were left isolated and damaged by negligent gynaecological treatment. He now co-ordinates the firm’s mesh claims and has delivered training and commented extensively on the medico-legal implications of urogynaecological / mesh complications. He is a member of APIL, Liverpool Law Society and Legal 500 recommended.
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Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor
Francesca Paul is an Associate, Senior Solicitor and Team Leader within the Clinical Negligence Department. She is one of the driving Solicitors in the Group Litigation Team dealing with this niche and specialist area of work that Fletchers undertakes.
Francesca previously worked in Nottingham, dealing with Group Action work. She now works at Fletchers, bringing with her those years of experience heading up a team of 10 people. Francesca is involved in the early identification of potential new Group Litigation Work and analyses information from the collective pool of new enquiries into the business, of which there are hundreds per week looking for hot spots or recurrent issues which might suggest a potential pool of Claimants.
One of the highlights for Francesca and her team is that they have successfully recovered over a million pounds in compensation for clients who have received treatment from a single orthopaedic surgeon who was operating in the Colchester area. Her role requires a specific set of skills, patience and a forensic approach to detail whilst being able to see the wider picture.
Francesca has previously acted for a claimant in a case that reached the Supreme Court in the case of NA v Nottinghamshire County Council.
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Sion Wynne
Team Leader/Senior Solicitor
Sion is a team leader and senior solicitor with many years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of medical specialisms and different types of injuries. He is an experienced medical negligence solicitor and manages a team of lawyers within our department.
Sion joined Fletchers in 2018 as a Team Leader in the Medical Negligence Department. Throughout his 24 year legal career, he has specialised in conducting medical negligence claims on behalf of Claimants, previously working for other highly ranked leading firms in the field.
He has undertaken claims covering the full spectrum of medical specialisms, clinical settings, categories of defendant and types of negligent medical care and treatment.
These include high value and complex maximum severity cases, such as those involving limb amputations and permanent neurological injuries.
Sion is experienced at representing bereaved families at inquests and has a particular interest in fatal accident claims.
Email meSarah's Story
"Now we have peace of mind"
My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.
In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.
He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.