Claiming If A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication
This guide will explain whether you can make a medical negligence claim if a doctor has prescribed the wrong medication. Taking the wrong medication can have various effects ranging from a minor reaction to a severe allergic reaction that leads to death. In order to claim for the harm you sustained, you must be able to show that a trained healthcare professional was negligent. We will explore this further in our guide to help you understand if you’re eligible to claim.
Doctor prescribed wrong medication claims guide
There are various types of wrong medication errors, such as receiving the wrong prescription or the wrong dosage. We will provide different examples further in our guide.
Additionally, we will explore the compensation you may receive following an incident of medical negligence.
We have aimed to cover the information you need in this guide. However, you may still have questions after reading. If so, our team of advisors could help.
They can provide additional guidance. Furthermore, they could assess your claim and if it has a chance of succeeding, could connect you with one of our medical negligence solicitors. A solicitor could then handle your case to help you get the compensation you deserve.
All of our solicitors operate on a No Win No Fee basis, this is a way of funding legal representation. For more information, get in touch by:
- Calling us today on 0800 073 8804.
- Filling out our contact form online.
- Chatting with an advisor using the live chat feature below.
We look forward to speaking with you about your prescription error claim.
Select A Section
- Types Of Prescription Medication Error
- The Effects Of A Doctor Prescribing The Wrong Medication
- How Many People Are Harmed By Doctors Prescribing The Wrong Medication?
- What To Do If A Doctor Has Prescribed You The Wrong Medication
- A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication, How Much Could You Claim?
- Get Free Advice About Claiming If A Doctor Prescribed The Wrong Medication
Types Of Prescription Medication Error
All medical professionals, including doctors, owe their patients a duty of care to provide their patients with an adequate standard of care.
However, in some cases, a doctor could provide their patient with inadequate care that leads to them sustaining harm. This is known as medical negligence or clinical negligence.
For that reason, a medication error could be deemed medical negligence if the standard of care dropped during the prescribing or issuing of medical treatment.
Examples of this might include:
- A doctor might have failed to check a patient’s medical history to check a medication was suitable to prescribe them. As a result, the patient may have experienced a severe allergic reaction causing them to go into anaphylactic shock after taking a medication they were allergic to.
- The doctor may misdiagnose their patient despite them exhibiting clear signs of a condition. As a result, they may have experienced harmful side effects from being given the wrong medication.
- A prescribing nurse might prescribe the wrong dosage of medication, giving a child an adult dosage. As a result, the child may experience harmful symptoms of an overdose, including damage to their internal organs.
If you have experienced a similar incident where a doctor has prescribed the wrong medication, please get in touch with our team on the number above.
The Effects Of A Doctor Prescribing The Wrong Medication
There are various ways you could be impacted after a doctor has prescribed you the wrong medication. For example, you could experience both physical and psychological effects.
The specific symptoms you experience will depend on the medication you have taken.
Furthermore, the severity of the harm you experience may vary depending on the circumstances. However, if a doctor’s negligence has resulted in you sustaining harm that could have been avoided had they provided the correct level of care, call our team.
How Many People Are Harmed By Doctors Prescribing The Wrong Medication?
According to a report on medication errors published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), medical professionals make an estimated 237 million drug errors a year in England.
Additionally, these drug errors may cause more than 1,700 deaths a year and cost the NHS over £98 million a year.
For more information on what you can do if a doctor prescribed the wrong medication, see the section below.
What To Do If A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication
There are various steps you could take if you have decided to make a medical negligence claim because your doctor prescribed you the wrong medication. For instance:
- Obtain medical evidence: If you have been prescribed the wrong medication, you may have sought medical attention. The medical treatment you received could be used as evidence to support your claim. For instance, you could access your medical reports which provide details on your diagnosis and treatment.
- Attend an additional assessment: You may be required to attend an independent medical appointment to produce a report on the current state of your condition.
- Seek legal advice: You could talk to a solicitor with experience handling medical negligence claims. They can help you gather relevant evidence and could arrange for you to attend a medical assessment in your local area.
Medical evidence is important to provide in support of your claim. It can show whether a medical professional took reasonable steps to uphold their duty of care.
However, the Bolam test may also be carried out to determine whether a medical professional provided care that met the minimum standard required. This involves a team of healthcare professionals from a relevant medical area assessing your case.
A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication, How Much Can You Claim?
Your claim may consist of general and special damages. General damages will compensate for any injuries you sustained after your doctor prescribed the wrong medication due to breaching their duty of care.
Special damages reimburse you for the out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of the harm you sustained. However, you must provide evidence of any financial losses. For example, if you experienced a loss of earnings, you could provide payslips to detail the losses you faced.
When calculating the value of your injuries, medical evidence may be taken into consideration to assess:
- The severity of the harm you experienced
- How badly the harm has impacted your quality of life
- The future impact you might face
Additionally, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) may also be used to help value your claim. This is a publication that outlines compensation brackets for different types of harm.
We have taken figures from the JCG to create the table below. Please only use these figures as a guide because your final settlement amount will vary. Please note the table does not include special damages compensation.
| Injury | Category | Damages | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kidney Injuries | (A) | £158,970 to £197,480 | Either permanent and serious damage to the kidneys or the loss of both the kidneys. |
| Kidney Injuries | (B) | Up to £60,050 | The person may face substantial future medical expenses and there could be significant risk of urinary tract infections in the future. |
| Bowel Injuries | (A) | Up to £172,860 | Where the person suffers both urinary and bowel incontinence. Natural function and control has been lost. There will also be further complications. |
| Bowel Injuries | (B) | Up to £140,870 | The person has lost natural bowel function and depends on a colostomy. Damages awarded may depend on the age of the person. |
| Bowel Injuries | (C) | In the region of £75,000 | The person will have passive incontinence and faecal urgency persisting following surgery which causes distress and embarrassment. |
| Bladder Injuries | (A) | Up to £172,860 | The person has double incontinence, losing natural function of the bladder and bowels. The case could also include other complications. |
| Bladder Injuries | (B) | Up to £132,040 | Total loss of bladder control and function. |
| Bladder Injuries | (C) | £60,050 to £75,010 | Seriously impaired bladder control. There will also be some degree of incontinence and pain. |
| Spleen Injuries | (A) | £19,510 to £24,680 | Where the spleen has been lost and the person faces the risk of developing an internal infection in the future resulting from a damaged immune system. |
| Spleen Injuries | (B) | £4,080 to £8,110 | Where the risk of an internal infection is either minimal or is not present. |
If you would like to discuss your claim in more detail, call our team. They can assess your case and provide an estimate of how much your injuries are worth.
Get Free Advice About Claiming If A Doctor Prescribed The Wrong Medication
We hope you have found this guide on what to do if a doctor prescribed you the wrong medication helpful. However, if you need any further guidance, our team could help.
They could assess your case and if they find your claim is valid and has a chance of success, they could connect you to a solicitor who could represent your claim.
All of our solicitors operate on a No Win No Fee basis. This means there are no upfront fees or ongoing costs to pay while your claim proceeds.
If your claim succeeds, you will pay a legally capped success fee from your compensation. If your claim fails, you won’t pay the success fee to your solicitor.
For more information, get in touch by:
- Calling us today on 0800 073 8804.
- Filling out our contact form online.
- Chatting with an advisor using the live chat feature below.
Learn More About Prescription Negligence Cases
Please read our online guides to learn more about making a prescription negligence claim.
- Pharmacy Negligence Claims Guide
- Clinical And Medical Negligence Claims
- I Was Misdiagnosed By Video Examination By A Doctor, Could I Claim Compensation?
Also, we have provided some additional external resources you may find helpful.
- Visit the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for information on the fundamental standards of care.
- A helpful NHS guide on poisoning.
Other Guides You Can Read
- Cohens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims Guide
- Can You Sue For Prescription Errors By A Pharmacy?
- Paydens Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims
- Day Lewis Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claim
If you need any more information on claiming after a doctor prescribed the wrong medication, please get in touch on the number above.
Writer Chelache
Editor Mitchell
Meet The Team
Our Top Legal Guides
