Wrongly prescribed antidepressants can have an array of negative impacts on your health and well-being, from not effectively treating your condition to various side effects. To that end, we provide information on when you could be eligible to start a medical negligence claim for compensation for wrongly prescribed antidepressants.
We look at the duty of care owed by medical professionals to their patients and how failing to meet the correct standard of care can lead to patients experiencing harm. You will also see an explanation of how medical negligence compensation is calculated under the two relevant heads of loss, as well as an overview of how you can prove medical negligence took place.
At the bottom of this page is an overview of how our No Win No Fee solicitors work when they take your claim on, and all the benefits this presents.
You can reach our advisors at any time. As well as providing answers to any questions you may have, they can assess your eligibility to begin a medical negligence claim free of charge. Contact our team today using the contact information given here:
- Phone on 0800 073 8804.
- Begin your claim online by completing this form.
- Use the live chat button at the bottom of your screen.
Select A Section
- Can I Claim Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants?
- How Could You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants?
- How To Prove A Claim For Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants
- How Much Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants Could I Receive?
- How A No Win No Fee Solicitor Could Help You Claim For The Effects Of The Wrong Medication
- Further Guidance On Claims For Being Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants
Can I Claim Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants?
The NHS define depression as a low mood that lasts for weeks or even months and can have a considerable impact on your day-to-day life. Antidepressants are a range of medicines primarily used to treat clinical depression. The most common antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as they cause fewer side effects and the danger of overdose is less serious.
They are typically only prescribed for cases of severe depression, or sometimes in cases of mild or moderate depression where other treatments have proved ineffective. Anti-depressant medication can also be prescribed for other mental health problems, such as OCD and anxiety disorders.
All medical professionals, both those in public and private healthcare, have a duty of care to provide their patients with the correct standard of medical care. Medical negligence, or clinical negligence, is defined as a medical professional causing their patient avoidable harm through a failure to provide care that meets the correct standard.
The criteria to begin a medical negligence claim for compensation after being wrongly prescribed antidepressants are as follows:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- That professional breached this duty by failing to provide medical care that met the correct standard.
- This breach caused you to suffer avoidable harm.
Our advisory team have substantial experience in assessing medical negligence claims. To find out more about the claims process, or to get a free consultation regarding your eligibility to claim, contact our team via the details provided above.
What Is The Time Limit For Prescription Error Medical Negligence Claims?
If you want to make a claim for the effects of being prescribed the wrong medication, you will need to abide by the limitation period. A medical negligence claim generally needs to be started within 3 years as per the Limitation Act 1980. This time limit can be counted from the date of knowledge, the date you would have been first expected to realise that negligence had occurred.
Exceptions can apply in certain cases. Patients who were minors when the medical negligence took place have the 3-year limit paused until they turn 18, as they cannot pursue a claim themselves as minors. In cases where the patient lacks sufficient medical capacity to begin a claim, the time limit is frozen indefinitely as they, too, are unable to pursue a legal claim.
While the time limit is paused or frozen, a suitable adult can apply to act as a litigation friend in these circumstances and pursue any legal action on the patient’s behalf. You can learn about the time limits and exceptions that apply to cases of wrongly prescribed anti-depressants by speaking to our advisors. Our team are available24 hours a day via the contact information provided above.
How Could You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants?
Depression is primarily diagnosed by asking the patient about their health, their home and work environment and any stressful or traumatic events that may have occurred. While, generally, there are no physical tests that can be used in the diagnosis, blood and urine tests may be used to rule out other conditions, such as thyroid problems.
Antidepressants can cause nausea, bowel issues, suicidal thoughts and other psychiatric illnesses and seizures, so it is important that before you are prescribed these, the doctor has diagnosed you correctly. We have included some possible scenarios of how a medical professional could incorrectly prescribe antidepressant medication:
- A doctor failed to correctly investigate your symptoms and diagnosed you with depression when you had a different condition. You were prescribed antidepressants, which were ineffective at treating your condition, meaning that your health deteriorated and you suffered adverse reactions to the antidepressant drugs.
- Although you were correctly diagnosed with depression, you were prescribed antidepressants that had an ingredient you had a known allergy to. This led to a severe allergic reaction.
- Due to suffering from an anxiety disorder, the doctor prescribed you antidepressants. However, they failed to check the other medication you were taking to prevent an adverse drug reaction. Due to the fact you were taking anti-inflammatory drugs, the antidepressants meant you went on to suffer from serotonin syndrome.
Not all cases of being wrongly prescribed antidepressants will mean a clinical negligence claim is valid. It is only when the prescribing error happens because the doctor or health care facility breached their duty of care and this led to suffering that was avoidable that a claim is eligible.
There are scenarios that could arise that result in you suffering avoidable harm due to a wrong medication error, whether this is because of the wrong dosage or wrong medicine. To find out if you could start a claim for compensation if you have been wrongly prescribed antidepressants in your specific circumstances, contact our team today via the details provided below.
How To Prove A Claim For Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants
You will need to compile a body of supporting evidence to prove you were wrongly prescribed antidepressants. This evidence will be used to demonstrate the harm you sustained as a result of the medical professional breaching their duty of care. We have provided this list of possible evidence you could collect here:
- The medical records from your diagnosis of depression could be used to demonstrate errors. If you acquired additional treatment to deal with the adverse effects of the wrong medication, you can acquire records of this as well.
- You should also retain your prescription letter as well as the antidepressants, including the packaging and labels.
- A witness statement could be taken from anyone who attended your appointments with you, so make sure you have the relevant contact information.
Will The Bolam Test Be Used In Cases Of Wrongly Prescribed Medication?
The Bolam Test is sometimes used in cases of medical negligence. This is where selected medical experts from the relevant field evaluate the care you received and assess whether the correct standard was met.
You can use any findings from the test as part of your evidence if used. It won’t be applied in every medical negligence case and isn’t something the claimant organises themselves, so you don’t need to worry about this.
Remember, the evidence you collect must demonstrate that the correct standard of care was not provided and this caused you avoidable harm in order to make a medical negligence claim. While you may be dissatisfied with the level of care you received, if the correct standard was met, you cannot begin a claim.
One of our expert medical negligence solicitors could provide support with gathering evidence, such as requesting your medical records. Once our advisors have decided you’re eligible to claim, one of our solicitors could take on your claim and assist with collecting supporting evidence, as well as make sure your claim is brought within the relevant time limit.
Get your eligibility to claim assessed for free today by calling the number given below.
How Much Compensation For Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants Could I Receive?
Following a successful claim for compensation for wrongly prescribed antidepressants, you will receive a compensation payout under up to two heads of loss. Compensation for the physical and psychological harm caused by medical negligence is awarded under general damages. You may also be entitled to compensation for certain financial losses, which is awarded under special damages, the second head of loss.
To assist in the calculation of a potential value for general damages in your claim, the legal team can make reference to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG publication is a document detailing guideline compensation for different types of harm. We have provided a selection of these figures in the table here.
Compensation Table
Please be advised that the top entry is not a JCG figure and that we have included a compensation table as a guide only.
| Type of Harm | Severity | Guideline Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Instances of Severe Harm As Well As Medical Costs, Lost Earnings and Other Special Damages. | Severe | Up to 250,000 + | The patient has suffered multiple instances of serious harm in addition to a loss of earnings, medical expenses and other special damages. |
| Psychiatric Damage | Severe (a) | £54,830 to £115,730 | Cases involving severe impacts on the ability to work and maintain personal and social relationships with a very poor prognosis. |
| Moderately Severe (b) | £19,070 to £54,830 | Significant problems with regard to work, social life and the extent treatment would be effective but a better prognosis than in (a). | |
| Moderate (c) | £5,860 to £19,070 | The injured person will have undergone a marked improvement with regard to their ability to work and maintain personal relationships. | |
| Less Severe (b) | £1,540 to £5,860 | Awards in this bracket will consider the length of the disability period and the extent to which sleep patterns and daily activities are affected. | |
| Digestive System | Non Traumatic Injury (b)(i) | £38,430 to £52,500 | Severe toxicosis resulting acute pain, diarrhoea, vomting and fever and requiring hospital admissions for days or weeks. |
| Non-Traumatic Injury (b)(ii) | £9,540 to £19,200 | Vomiting and diarrhoea that subsides within 4 weeks, although some continuing discomfort and impacts on bowel function may remain. |
Special Damages
The second head of loss, special damages, awards for costs sustained as a result of the medical negligence you experienced. Some examples could be:
- Lost earnings if you needed leave from work to recover.
- The costs of travel to and from your place of work once you’ve returned.
- Assistant with domestic duties such as food preparation, cleaning or gardening if you can no longer carry out these tasks safely on your own.
- Various medical expenses such as talking therapy, medications or other out-of-pocket expenses.
Be sure to keep hold of financial documents, such as receipts, tickets and your payslips, as part of your supporting evidence. To get a more in-depth assessment of the potential value of your medical negligence claim, contact our advisors using the details provided below.
How A No Win No Fee Solicitor Could Help You Claim For The Effects Of The Wrong Medication
You can consult our advisors for a no-cost assessment of your eligibility to begin a medical negligence claim for compensation after being wrongly prescribed antidepressants. If eligible, one of our specialist solicitors could offer you a No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
CFAs provide claimants with some substantial advantages. First of all, there will not be an upfront fee for your solicitor to start working on your claim, generally speaking. Similarly, you will also not be liable for any fees for this work during the actual claims process. Finally, if the claim fails, there is no fee for the solicitor’s services.
Following the success of your claim, you will receive a compensation award. A percentage of this award will be taken by the solicitor before they transfer the remainder to you. This is known as a success fee. Success fees are capped at a maximum of 25% so you, the claimant, will be keeping most of your award.
You can learn more about medical negligence claims from our advisors, who can answer any questions that have arisen during the reading of this guide.
Our team can also offer a free consultation regarding your eligibility to start a medication error claim. They can answer questions regarding claiming for medication errors or prescription errors and whether you can pursue a case against public or private healthcare providers. Contact our team today via the details provided here:
- Phone on 0800 073 8804.
- Begin your claim online by completing this form.
- Use the live chat button at the bottom of your screen.
Further Guidance On Claims For Being Wrongly Prescribed Antidepressants
You can read more of our guides to making medical negligence claims by following these links:
- Learn more about the eligibility criteria to begin a claim for a missed lumbar fracture and how compensation is calculated.
- You can read this guide to making a complaint about unnecessary surgery and what harm could be caused by such negligence.
- Read more about how our solicitors can help with brain cancer misdiagnosis claims.
We have also provided some external resources you may find useful:
- Find mental health services near you on this NHS webpage.
- Find out about how doctors are regulated in the UK on the General Medical Council website.
- NHS England on reporting patient safety incidents.
- You may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay. Read more on this government webpage.
Thank you for taking the time to read our guide on starting a medical negligence claim for compensation for wrongly prescribed antidepressants. To find out more about the claims process or to get your eligibility to claim assessed at no charge, speak to an advisor today. Our team are available 24 hours a day via the details provided above.
