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A Guide To Pharmacy Claims

By Marlon Cooke. Last Updated 10th June 2024. Welcome to our pharmacy claims guide. In this guide, we answer the question, “Can I claim compensation if the pharmacy gave me the wrong medication?”.

We first define pharmacy negligence and what criteria need to be met for someone to start a claim of this nature. We then look at examples of instances that are classed as medical negligence in a pharmacy and how it could possibly occur.

Furthermore, we provide a list of what types of evidence can best support this type of claim. We also provide a guideline compensation table to show you how medical negligence compensation is calculated.

To conclude this guide, we discuss the benefits of our No Win No Fee solicitors.

To find out whether your pharmacy negligence claim is eligible, please contact our advisors. Our advisors are available for a chat 24/7, just simply:

Bottles of different medication on pharmacy shelves.

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Pharmacy Negligence – What Is It?

As medical professionals, pharmacists will owe a duty of care to anyone who seeks treatment, or purchases medicine through them. They will have to perform their jobs competently to ensure that they do not cause avoidable harm to people.

If a pharmacist breaches this duty and you suffer from unnecessary harm due to this breach, you may be able to sue the responsible pharmacist for their negligence. An example of this being if a pharmacy gave you the wrong dosage for your medication and this led to you falling ill. You could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim to seek compensation for your caused illness, and the effect that the illness had on your life.

The following section goes into more detail about the different ways that pharmacy negligence could occur, but you can reach out to one of our advisers at any point to receive a free claim evaluation.

What Types Of Pharmacy Error Compensation Claims Can You Make?

Causes that may result in a pharmacy compensation claim could be:

  • Administrative errors – these will usually be made by junior members of the pharmacist staff, who will not be medically qualified. However, the pharmacist responsible for the pharmacy is also responsible for making sure junior staff do not make critical mistakes.
  • Dispensing errors – in these cases, the pharmacist will have given the patient the wrong medication. Either by giving them entirely the wrong container or filling a container with the wrong medication.
  • Transcription errors – we have all heard the old jokes about a doctor’s handwriting. Unfortunately, joking aside, when a pharmacist misreads a prescription, they could end up providing the wrong medication.
  • Prescription errors are rare in the UK, as pharmacists are not allowed to prescribe medication for their customers.

These are the most common ways that pharmacy errors occur. If you have been the victim of any of these, then Legal Expert can assist you by making a damages claim on your behalf. Call us on the telephone number at the end of this guide to find out how to claim.

Top Tips For Proving A Wrong Prescription Claim

This section focuses on examples of evidence that you can gather to help support your claim. In order to be awarded compensation for damage caused by receiving a wrong prescription, you need to be able to establish medical negligence.

For that reason, to build a strong case to receive settlements for the wrong prescription being administered, you could gather various pieces of evidence.

Here are some examples of evidence you can acquire:

A copy of the wrong prescription – Being prescribed the wrong medication could have a negative affect on your health. Having the prescription itself can be a very valuable piece of evidence to present during your claim.

Medical records – These may contain information on your original condition. They can help establish whether or not the medication you were prescribed was suitable.

Independent medical assessment – This needs to be carried out as part of your claim. Information such as the extent of your injuries and how long it may take you to recover will be included in the report. If you enlist our services, our lawyers can help arrange this locally for you.

Get in touch if you need any more examples or information on evidence gathering.

What Can A Pharmacy Negligence Claim Include?

When you make a compensation claim for compensation for dispensing error by a pharmacy, your settlement will comprise of several different types of damages. These damages fall under two main headings; special damages and general damages, thus:

What Falls Under General Damages?

General damages are the category of damages that contains all of the physical manifestations of your compensation claim, including but not limited to:

  • Pain and suffering – of the medical condition itself, this would mean all of the short-term and long-term symptoms of taking the wrong medication.
  • Mental trauma – of the initial medical condition, the worry of taking the wrong medication and not knowing how well you will recover.
  • Psychological damage – in the longer term, such as anxiety or depression.
  • Long-term disability – if the medication has caused long-term or permanent effects on your health.

Settlements For Wrong Prescription UK

A drug dispensing error could have far-reaching effects on your life. If you’ve suffered harm due to a wrong prescription, the settlements for wrong prescription UK in a successful claim will depend on the severity of your injuries and their continuing impact on your life. This calculation is known as general damages.

The table below contains compensation amounts that could serve as guides to estimate how much compensation for wrong medication illness you could receive. These amounts are taken from the April 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines and are used by solicitors when valuing claims.

InjurySeverityAmount
Multiple serious types of harm along with special damagesSeriousUp to £500,000+
Injuries affecting sightTotal blindness (b)In the region of £327,940
KidneyLoss or serious and permanent damage (a)£206,730 to £256,780
Loss of one kidney (c)£37,550 to £54,760
Female reproductive systemInfertility with sexual dysfunction £140,210 to £207,260
BladderComplete loss of control and function (b)Up to £171,680
Seriously impaired control (c)£78,080 to £97,540
DeafnessTotal hearing loss in one ear (c)£38,210 to £55,570
SpleenLoss of spleen (a)£25,380 to £32,090

Other Example Settlements For Wrong Prescription In The UK

If you have incurred financial losses due to your injuries and can prove these costs, you could include them in your claim. This would be under special damages and could include travel expenses, private medical costs and loss of income.

For more information about what your claim could potentially be worth, get in touch with us today. Our advisors can offer a free claim estimate based on your specific circumstances.

Pharmacy Negligence Cases – No Win No Fee Pharmacy Claims Experts

If you’ve been harmed by a medical mistake due to a pharmacist’s negligence and have decided to claim, we recommend you seek legal assistance. Choosing an experienced solicitor could have a positive impact on the success rate of your claim. It could therefore be valuable to use solicitors who have successfully handled pharmacy negligence cases in the past.

Our solicitors at Legal Expert have years of experience in all types of claims. They can also offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis.

This means you are not required to pay your solicitor upfront for their work. If your claim succeeds, and you receive compensation, you will pay your solicitor a legally capped success fee. If you do not receive compensation, you will not be required to pay this.

Why Legal Expert Can Help You

If you were the victim of a pharmacy error, such as your chemist dispensed the wrong drugs and this caused you harm, we can help you claim the compensation you are eligible for. We have done this for thousands of people in the past, and we can do the same for you.

We try to get you the very maximum level of compensation we can, based on the specifics of your particular case, and we will always keep you updated on whatever we are doing on your behalf to move your claim forward.

Call Legal Expert on the number below to learn how you can become another one of our happy clients and receive the compensation you deserve.

Talk To Us Today

Are you ready to seek settlement for the wrong prescription? Or have you been the victim of one of the other types of pharmacy errors? Either way, call Legal Expert 0800 073 8804 so that we can learn more about your claim. Once we have, we will tell you what we think the best thing you can do next is.

Useful Links

Below is a full guide to making a compensation claim for a case of clinical negligence:

A guide to making a clinical negligence claim

Below is a full guide to making a compensation claim for a case of clinical negligence causing death:

A guide to making a clinical negligence claim that caused a death

Below is a report on patient safety that was published by the NHS in the UK:

What to do if Sainsbury’s pharmacy gives you the wrong medication – claims guide

This guide is a bit more specific. If you have evidence that Sainsbury’s pharmacy could be guilty of negligence, then read this guide.

NHS patient safety report

Below is a link that leads to statistics published by the UK Government on clinical negligence:

UK statistics on clinical negligence

Below is a link that leads to NHS publishing information on poisoning:

NHS info on poisoning

Other Helpful Guides

Pharmacy Compensation Claims FAQs

How do pharmacy claims payments happen?

The insurance company for the pharmacy would usually make payments to patients that file successful claims.

How do I sue a pharmacy?

You can speak with one of our personal injury solicitors at any time about suing a pharmacy.

What is negligence in pharmacy?

This is where an action or lack thereof unnecessarily places a patient’s health at some level of risk.

What happens when a pharmacy makes a mistake?

At this stage, the patient could look at making a compensation claim against the pharmacy.

What is pharmacist misconduct?

This is where a pharmacist acts poorly to cause harm or by acting with negligence towards patients.

How many mistakes do pharmacists make?

They don’t happen often, but pharmacists across the board do make a small percentage of errors over time.

What is lack of documentation for a claim?

This includes any documentation that supports or even discredits the patient’s attempts to receive a safe prescription.

Can a pharmacist reject a prescription?

This is possible if the pharmacist feels that the medication would cause harm to the patient.

Thank you for reading our pharmacy compensation claims guide.