This is a guide on claiming compensation because you have been harmed by wrong patient medication errors. You could potentially claim if a trained medical practitioner were to give you medication intended for another patient. Not all medication errors will mean a medical negligence claim is possible. But if you have suffered harm because a medical practitioner failed to uphold their duty of care and provided you with the wrong medication then you could be eligible to make a claim.
Wrong patient medication errors claims guide
Wrong patient medication errors could in some cases be medical negligence, meaning a healthcare professional has breached their duty of care. Medical professionals have a duty towards their patients to provide a minimum standard of care.
Read on to learn more about how you could potentially claim if you were given another patient’s medication, or another patient was given yours. You can also get in touch with us at any time; our advisors can offer free of charge legal advice. If they think your case has a good chance of success, they could connect you with one of our solicitors to help you start a claim today.
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- Call 0800 073 8804
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Select A Section
- What Are Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
- Who Is Liable For Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
- Liability And Causation
- How Do You Claim For Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
- Damages You Could Claim For Wrong Patient Medication Errors
- Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Claims For Wrong Patient Medication Errors
What Are Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
A wrong patient medication error could occur if you are given medication intended for another patient. For example, if you were being cared for in a hospital, you may need a specific medication to aid your rehabilitation. If a nurse gave you a medication intended for another individual with different needs, this could potentially have an adverse effect on your recovery. You could potentially even have an allergic reaction to it, leading to symptoms unrelated to your original injury or illness.
You could also potentially claim if you were negatively impacted by missing a dosage due to it being administered to a different patient. For example, some medications need to be administered at specific times. In medical environments such as hospitals, it is a healthcare professionals duty to keep track of when this should be. If you miss a timed dose of medication, this could mean your condition continues to worsen.
It is important to note that you cannot claim for your original injury or illness, only the harm caused by medical negligence.
Wrong Medication Error Statistics
A study estimated that 237 million medication errors happen in the NHS in England every year. Researchers also discovered that avoidable adverse drug reactions could contribute to around 712 deaths a year.
Medication errors were also more common with patients with multiple conditions taking multiple medications.
If you have been harmed because you were given the wrong medication then call our claims team to have your case assessed. If they can see you are eligible to make a medical negligence claim they could offer to connect you to our medical negligence solicitor.
Who Is Liable For Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
All medical professionals have a duty of care towards patients under their care. This includes:
- Nurses
- Doctors
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- GPs
To be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for compensation your case must meet specific criteria. You must be able to show that you were owed a duty of care. This duty will need to have been breached. And finally it will have been such negligence that caused you harm. This must be true in order to have a successful medical negligence claim.
How To Complain About Negligent Healthcare
You may also want to make a formal complaint against the organisation that harmed you. This is not the same as making a claim, as they may not offer you compensation. However, you could receive a formal apology and an explanation for why your care was substandard.
You should know that you can still claim compensation even if you’ve filed a complaint. You would be able to use any correspondents as part of your medical negligence claim.
Liability And Causation
To make a valid medical negligence claim, it is important that a medical professional’s breach in duty of care caused you harm. This includes providing a substandard level of care, such as giving you medication that was supposed to be for another patient or giving another patient your medication.
It’s possible that you could experience negligence and not experience some form of harm. If this is the case, you could not make a claim.
How Do You Claim For Wrong Patient Medication Errors?
This section will look at the steps involved in the claims process. If you’ve been harmed due to a wrong patient prescription error, you may want to seek medical help. You could potentially visit your GP or call 111 for non-emergency medical advice. For more severe issues, you may want to visit the nearest A&E service or call 999.
Once you have received treatment for any symptoms, you could consider gathering evidence to help support your claim. This could include:
- Medical records
- Relevant correspondences
- Photographs, if relevant
However, this list is not exhaustive. If you hire a solicitor, they can help you figure out what evidence will work best for your claim.
How Could We Help You?
A solicitor can help guide you through the claims process in many ways. A solicitor can:
- Help you arrange a medical appointment in your area to reduce travel
- Investigate claims
- Assess what you are owed in damages
- Negotiate your compensation with the faulting party
If your claim ends up in court, a lawyer can also represent you here. If you want to hire legal representation, you can talk to our advisors today.
Damages You Could Claim For Wrong Patient Medication Errors
If a medical negligence claim is successful your compensation could comprise of two Heads of Loss. These are general and special damages.
General damages compensates you for the pain and suffering caused by the medical negligence. It also looks to provide compensation for any loss in quality of life. You will be invited to a medical appointment with an independent doctor who will assess your suffering.
A report will be provided which will help both sides come to a figure for general damages. Guidelines from the Judicial College will also help in this process.
As you will see in the table below we have included injuries and illnesses that could be caused by medical negligence. We have used bracket amounts from the JC guidelines.
| Injury | Severity | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD | Severe | £56,180 to £94,470 | There will be permanent consequences which prevent the claimant from functioning at anything close to pre-trauma level. The claimant will be badly affected in all areas of life. |
| Deafness | (C) | £29,380 to £42,730 | Complete hearing loss in one ear. |
| Bladder | (B) | Up to £132,040 | Total loss of control and function. |
| Psychiatric | Moderately Severe | £17,900 to £51,460 | Significant issues with work, education, relationships and life in general. Compensation may also depend on the success of any treatment. Prognosis will be more optimistic. |
| Impairment of Taste & Smell | (D) | £18,020 to £23,460 | Loss of taste. |
| Spleen | (A) | £19,510 to £24,680 | Loss of spleen with a related risk of internal infection and disorders due to immune system damage. |
| Asthma | (B) | £24,680 to £40,370 | Chronic asthma that causes breathing difficulties. The claimant may need to use an inhaler occasionally and there will be restricted employment prospects and an uncertain prognosis for recovery. |
| Lung Disease | (A) | £94,470 to £127,530 | For a young person with a serious disability. There is a probability of progressive worsening leading to a premature death. |
| Sight | (C) (i) | £90,100 to £168,730 | There is a total loss of sight in one eye. There is also a related serious risk of further deterioration in the other eye. |
| Digestive System | (b) (iv) | £860 to £3,710 | Varying degress of disabling pain, diarrhoea and cramps. This may continue for some days or weeks. |
You could also claim compensation for specific financial losses relating to the medication error. This is known as special damages. You need to prove that your losses directly resulted from the negligence.
For example, if you needed to take time away from work, you could potentially lose out on income. You could show this loss via payslips and bank statements. You could also claim compensation for future losses, such as continued loss of earnings.
Talk To Us About No Win No Fee Claims For Wrong Patient Medication Errors
You may be concerned about the costs of hiring a solicitor. However, our solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. What could this mean?
- If your case succeeds, your solicitor only deducts a legally capped success fee from your compensation
- If your case fails, your solicitor is not paid at all
- No payments before or during the case
If this sounds appealing to you, get in touch with us at any time to find out more. Our expert advisors can offer free legal advice. They can also connect you with a medical negligence solicitor who can help you start a claim.
- Fill out our online contact form
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Message our live chat
Find The Right Lawyer For Your Claim
We hope you found our guide about wrong patient medication errors claims helpful. For further resources, please see below.
Doctor Prescribed Wrong Dosage – Learn if you can claim if your doctor prescribed you the wrong dosage.
Payout for a GP Prescription Error – Find out if you can claim compensation for a GP prescription error.
Negligent Surgery – A guide on how to claim for medical negligence in surgery.
How to Complain to the NHS – A guide on making a formal complaint against the NHS.
NHS Resolution – It provide expertise advice to the NHS on claims made against them.
Care Quality Commission CQC – Independent regulator for health and social care
If you have any further questions about wrong patient medication errors claims, please get in touch.
