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Claiming If A Doctor Has Prescribed The Wrong Medication

Last Updated On 11th December 2024. Has a doctor prescribed the wrong medication for you? If so, you could potentially claim compensation. This guide will cover all the points you need to know.

When we seek the help of a medical professional such as a doctor or pharmacist, we expect that they will help us. Normally, the correct medication is given to you, but sometimes mistakes happen. Where medical negligence occurs, you could claim damages.

We will begin by discussing the different types of medication errors and when they can form the basis of a claim. Also included is a section about how compensation is calculated in a successful claim.

Finally, we show how one of our experienced medical negligence solicitors could help you with your claim. They can help you work out what to do if a doctor prescribed you the wrong medication.

You can read the guide, or if you would like to speak to an advisor now, you can:

  • Call us today on 0800 073 8804.
  • Fill out our contact form online.
  • Chat with an advisor using the live chat feature below.

We look forward to speaking with you about your prescription error claim.

Doctor talks to a patient.

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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 obtain 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’s first figure was not taken from the JCG.

Injury or HarmSeverityCompensation Guideline
Multiple Serious Injury and Special DamagesVery SeriousUp to £1,000,000 +
Brain InjuryVery Severe£344,150 to £493,000
Moderately Severe£267,340 to £344,150
Moderate (i)£183,190 to £267,340
KidneySerious or Loss of Both Kidneys£206,730 to £256,780
Significant Risk of Loss of Future Kidney FunctionUp to £78,080
Loss of One KIdney£37,550 to £54,760
BowelsDouble IncontinenceUp to £224,790
Total Loss of Natural FunctionUp to £183,190
SpleenLoss of Spleen£25,380 to £32,090

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.

A solicitor works on a case where a doctor prescribed the wrong medication.

Learn More About Prescription Negligence Cases

Please read our online guides to learn more about making a prescription negligence claim.

Also, we have provided some additional external resources you may find helpful.

Other Guides You Can Read

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