Was it medical negligence, or just one of those things?

Reviewed by
Peter Rigby, Director of Medical Neglience

Prescription Error Claims

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A prescription error can occur when a GP or hospital makes a mistake when creating your prescription. This could mean that a patient is prescribed the wrong medication, often something with a similar name, or it could be that your doctor prescribes too high or too low a dose. It could also occur when you have the right prescription, but the pharmacy gives you the wrong medication or dosage.

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How might a prescription error happen?

 

Prescription errors are most often caused by simple human error, with somebody typing the wrong details into a computer, or a pharmacist mishandling a prescription. If you’ve received the wrong prescription from a doctor or practitioner, or the wrong medication from a pharmacy, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

 

How you might be affected by a prescription error

 

Prescription errors can be very dangerous. They can lead to overdoses of medication if the dosage is too high. In cases where the wrong drug is given, there is a dual effect from the potential side effects of the wrong drug given, and the continued or deteriorating effects of an illness for which the intended drug was meant to help. There may also be financial implications if you need time off work due to the error.

 

How our legal team can offer support

 

Medical professionals have a duty of care, and you have the right to bring a claim for compensation against those responsible for your prescription error.

Making a claim against your GP, pharmacy or hospital can feel overwhelming, but Patient Claim Line will guide you through the process. We will take the stress out of bringing a claim and help you towards the resolution you deserve.

 

How do I know if I have a prescription error claim?

 

If you have been taking medication that was not intended for you, or your medication was prescribed with an error in the dosage, then you may be entitled to bring a claim against the medical professional who made the error.

 

What are my rights if I have experienced a prescription error?

 

You have the right to bring a claim for compensation against the hospital, GP, or pharmacy that caused the prescription error.

 

What kind of evidence will I need to provide to make a prescription error claim?

 

If you still have the blister pack and/or the box of the drugs you were prescribed in error, please keep them safe as they may be useful. If not, do not worry! We can still investigate, as the prescription will likely be recorded with the hospital, your GP, or at the pharmacy.

 

What kind of compensation could I be entitled to for a prescription error claim?

 

Compensation for personal injuries varies immensely between individuals, based on the injuries caused and the lasting effects on you. Your claim would be valued with the use of independent expert input to assess the impact of any negligence upon you, both now and in the future.

In cases involving prescription errors, there can be a wide range of outcomes. In a case where the effect of the drugs was very short lived, without any consequences for future health, then the case may settle for £1,000 or more. However, in cases where serious injury has been caused, or cases where someone has died as a result of the effects of prescription error, the case may be worth £100,000 or more.

 

Are prescription errors classed as medical negligence?

 

Yes they are. A patient is owed a duty of care by medical professionals, and that includes when prescribing drugs or when a pharmacy is dispensing them.

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Why Choose Patient Claim Line for your Prescription Error Claim?


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 our medical negligence team

Peter Rigby

Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence

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

Christian Beadell
Head of Group Action

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

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

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.

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Case Study

Vincent's Story

"He's always there for us"

At the age of 2 we noticed our son Vincent had trouble with his hearing. We had this testing over a number of years and were repeatedly told there was nothing wrong.

Initially we thought this was a speech and language problem, this wasn't the case. It took 4 to 5 years of assessments, with the constant response that there was nothing wrong with his hearing. A different test was them carried on Vincent overnight where it was found he was profoundly deaf.

After years of frustration we were finally able to provide Vincent with the support he required and received an implant. This has enable Vincent to be able to hear. The support from our solicitors has enabled to to gain access to specialist which have supported Vincent in closing the gap in his speech he lost out on to his peers.

You don’t have to go through this alone – take the first step now