Compensation for injuries caused by Prescription Errors
If you have suffered an injury due to a prescription error, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
- Information about prescription errors claims
- How much can I claim?
- What can I claim compensation for?
- Making a claim for compensation
Prescription errors can take a number of 
forms. If a doctor gives the patient the wrong drug to take it is considered a prescription error. If the doctor gives the wrong dosage of a drug to take then it could also be considered prescription error.
Other types of prescription errors include:
- Medications improperly prescribed so that they react negatively toward one another
- Drugs being mislabeled
- Incorrect filing of an order
- Improper knowledge of abbreviations on the drug
- Illegible handwriting causing miscommunication between dosage and drugs
The errors can be catagorised into four types of error, which are described as:
- type A (potentially serious to patient);
- type B (major nuisance - pharmacist/doctor contact required);
- type C (minor nuisance - pharmacist must use professional judgement);
- type D (trivial).
The problem is, there are dozens of similarly named drugs which if mixed up can cause patients to become sicker or to die because they are not the correct drug for the patient.
Other types of medication errors include:
- Mistakes may stem from incorrect dosage, meaning too much or too little of the drug is provided
- Bad interactions; when a patient already takes a drug that conflicts with a newly prescribed drug
- Patients being given a drug they are allergic to, whether or not the doctor knows about the allergy
Most mistakes boil down to human error. Doctors, notorious for bad handwriting, may choose the right drug, but the pharmacist may read it incorrectly.
If you think you have been the victim of medical error and pharmaceutical error then you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering. For help with your prescription error claim, contact a specialist medical negligence solicitor to discuss your claim.
How much can I claim?
A number of factors will determine the value of your settlement:
- The type of injury and how severe the injury is
- Did you recover fully from the injury or do you have ongoing problems
- What are the long term effects on your health
- Did the injury cause you other losses such as loss of earnings
What can I claim compensation for?
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of earnings
- The loss of comfort/convenience/quality of life caused by your injury
- Medical care costs
- Costs involved in adapting your home to meet your new requirements as a result of your injury
- Other out of pocket expenses incurred whilst receiving medical treatment, such as travel expenses
Making a claim for compensation
A specialist medical negligence solicitor can assess your case and inform you about:
- How strong your case is
- The likelyhood of making a successful claim
- The amount of compensation you may receive if your claim is successful
- Pursue a claim on your behalf