Can I Sue For A Prescription Error And Claim Compensation?

When medication prescribed to improve your health instead causes further harm, it can leave you dealing with unexpected symptoms while also questioning how the mistake happened and whether it should have been avoided. You may be able to make a medical negligence claim if the care involved in prescribing or supplying your medication was substandard and caused avoidable harm. If you are wondering how to sue for a prescription error, our panel of medical negligence solicitors can assess whether those requirements are met in your case and help you understand what pursuing compensation could involve.

Drawing on their experience of complex medical negligence cases, a solicitor from our panel can look closely at how the prescription error unfolded and obtain the medical evidence needed to establish what difference the mistake made to your health. If the claim is taken forward, that experience can help them bring the medical and financial consequences together carefully, so the compensation sought reflects the immediate and long-term impact the medication mistake has had on your life.

At How To Sue, our advisors are your first point of contact. If you have been harmed by a prescription error and are unsure what to do next, speak with one of them today. They can talk through what happened with you and explain whether your case could be referred to a specialist medical negligence solicitor from our panel.

How To Sue For A Prescription Error

To sue for a prescription error, you need to show that a healthcare professional provided care that fell below the expected clinical standard when prescribing your medication and that this caused you avoidable harm. If those elements can be established, you could have grounds to make a medical negligence claim for the harm and financial losses you experienced.

When you reach out to our panel, they will look at the circumstances of the prescription error against the care you should reasonably have received and the harm that followed. Their review will focus on:

• Whether you were entitled to an appropriate standard of prescribing care. Healthcare professionals have a legal obligation to provide the correct standard of care, so any decision to prescribe medication should reflect the level of skill and competence reasonably expected of a practitioner in that role. That can include accounting for known allergies or previous adverse reactions, as well as checking whether existing medications could affect the suitability of a new prescription.
• Whether the prescribing care fell below that standard. This may be the case if the medication itself was unsuitable or the dosage exposed you to avoidable harm. The care you received may also have fallen short if a contraindication or harmful drug interaction should have meant that a different medicine was prescribed.
• Whether the prescription error caused additional or avoidable harm. The mistake must have made a real difference to your health, whether through an allergic reaction or organ damage caused by the medication.

If you want to know how to sue for a prescription error, contact our advisors today. They can assess your circumstances for free and may be able to connect you with a medical negligence solicitor from our panel.

Circumstances That Could Lead To A Prescription Error Claim

Prescription errors can occur at different stages of deciding what medication a patient should receive, from selecting the appropriate drug to determining the correct dose. Examples of mistakes that could result in a prescription error claim include:

• Prescribing medication despite a recorded allergy. Your GP prescribes amoxicillin even though a penicillin allergy is clearly recorded in your medical notes, causing you to develop anaphylaxis.
• Prescribing the wrong dosage. You are prescribed a dose that is substantially higher than clinically appropriate, resulting in an overdose that causes loss of consciousness.
• Failing to consider a dangerous drug interaction. While you are already taking another medicine, a GP adds a new prescription without properly checking whether the combination is safe. The interaction causes gastrointestinal bleeding, leaving you with severe abdominal pain and blood loss.
• Prescribing medication that is contraindicated. A doctor prescribes a drug despite a documented health condition that makes it unsuitable for you, resulting in acute kidney damage and long-term renal issues.
• Failing to amend a prescription following a treatment change. Following a clinical review, your medication is meant to be stopped, but the repeat prescription is not amended and you continue receiving the drug. This leads to acute gastric bleeding and a prolonged period of weakness.

If something about your prescription did not match your medical needs and your health suffered as a result, our advisors can help you make sense of what happened. Contact How To Sue today to discuss whether the circumstances could justify further investigation by a solicitor from the panel.

Who Could Be Responsible For A Medication Prescription Mistake?

Responsibility for a medication prescription mistake could rest with the healthcare professional who made the prescribing error or, in some cases, another provider involved in checking or supplying the medication. Identifying responsibility requires looking at where the error occurred and what each healthcare professional was expected to do.

Potentially responsible parties could include:

• GPs. A GP could be responsible if they prescribe the wrong drug, select an incorrect dose or fail to take relevant information in a patient’s medical records into account.
• Hospital doctors. Prescription errors can occur during inpatient treatment or when medication is prescribed following discharge. For example, a hospital doctor could incorrectly alter a patient’s dosage and cause an overdose.
• Pharmacists. They have professional responsibilities when dispensing medication and checking prescriptions. A claim could involve a pharmacist who supplies medication despite identifying, or reasonably being expected to identify, a significant problem with the prescription. A pharmacist could also be responsible for a separate dispensing error, such as supplying the wrong drug.
• Other qualified healthcare professionals. Certain nurses, dentists and other appropriately qualified healthcare professionals can prescribe medication within their professional competence. They could be responsible if an avoidable prescribing error causes patient harm.

More than one healthcare professional or organisation could sometimes be involved. You can discuss your situation confidentially and ask further questions on how to sue for a prescription error by speaking to our advisory team. Whether the mistake happened at your GP surgery or hospital, they can help identify the appropriate next step without expecting you to work out responsibility yourself.

What Injuries Can A Prescription Error Cause?

A prescription error can cause injuries including adverse drug reactions, overdose-related harm and the worsening of an existing illness. It can also leave an underlying condition untreated or cause psychological harm, with the severity depending on the medication involved and the patient’s individual circumstances.

Potential effects include:

• Adverse reactions. Incorrect medication can cause harmful side effects or allergic reactions, which may require urgent medical treatment.
• Overdose injuries. An incorrect dosage can expose a patient to excessive amounts of a drug, potentially causing serious illness and hospitalisation.
• An untreated medical condition. Receiving the wrong medication can mean the condition requiring treatment is left unmanaged, allowing symptoms to persist or progress.
• A worsening existing illness. Ineffective or unsuitable medication may allow an underlying condition to deteriorate before the prescription error is identified.
• Harm requiring additional treatment. Complications from a prescription mistake may require further medication, hospital care or other corrective treatment.
• Psychological harm. Experiencing a serious medication error can cause anxiety or other recognised psychological injuries, particularly where the patient has suffered significant physical consequences.

Independent medical evidence can help establish which injuries were caused or worsened by the prescription error rather than the patient’s underlying condition. This distinction can be important when determining what harm should be included in a medical negligence claim.

If a prescription mistake has caused more than a temporary setback, contact our advisors at How To Sue. They can discuss the physical and psychological effects you experienced and help determine whether the harm could justify a compensation claim.

How Much Compensation Can I Sue For After A Prescription Mistake?

The amount of compensation you can sue for after a prescription mistake will depend on the avoidable harm caused by the medication error and what that has meant for you financially. There is no fixed award for a prescription error claim because compensation is calculated according to your individual injuries, recovery and resulting losses.

If your prescription error claim succeeds, part of the compensation will be awarded as general damages for the pain and suffering caused by the medication mistake, together with the impact on your enjoyment of everyday life. Where appropriate, a solicitor from our panel can arrange an independent medical assessment to establish the extent of the harm and how your recovery is expected to develop.

That medical evidence may be considered alongside the suggested compensation brackets in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which the document lists for different illnesses and harm. The table below provides examples from the JCG, but they are guidelines rather than guaranteed awards. The top entry has not come from the JCG.

Could My Settlement Cover Prescription Error-Related Expenses?

Yes, your settlement could cover prescription error-related expenses such as lost earnings and additional medical costs, provided they resulted from the harm you suffered. These losses are known as special damages and can include past and future expenses.

A solicitor from our panel can investigate the financial impact of the medication error, such as:

• Lost earnings. Payslips and employment records can show the income you missed while recovering from an overdose or another adverse reaction. If lasting symptoms, such as reduced stamina or concentration, affect your ability to work, evidence can also be used to calculate future earnings losses.
• Treatment costs. An unsafe dosage or harmful drug interaction may leave you needing further medication or rehabilitative support. If those costs are reasonable and supported by invoices or receipts, they can be included in the valuation.
• Travel expenses for prescription error treatment. Managing the impact of a prescription error may require additional hospital visits for blood tests or organ function monitoring. Reasonable travel costs for those additional appointments may be included in the claim when supported by evidence.
• Care required because of prescription-related harm. A severe reaction to prescribed medication or worsening underlying condition may mean you now rely on practical help. The value of necessary professional care and, in some circumstances, support provided by relatives can be factored into the claim.
• Future costs arising from lasting prescription harm. If the medication error creates ongoing treatment or care needs, independent medical evidence can help establish how long that support may be required so the resulting future costs are reflected.

Special damages need to be supported by appropriate evidence, but you do not need to calculate every financial consequence before reaching out. If you are researching how to sue for a prescription error, contact our advisors today.

What Will I Need To Start A Prescription Error Claim?

To start a prescription error claim, you will need information that helps show what medication should have been prescribed and how the error caused you avoidable harm. You do not need to have collected every document before starting the process, as a solicitor from our panel can identify what matters to your particular prescription error and obtain further evidence as the claim develops.

Which Records Could Help Prove A Prescription Error?

Records that could help prove a prescription error include your prescription history and the medical notes surrounding the decision to prescribe the medication. These may show the drug and dosage you were given, while allergy records or details of your existing medicines can reveal information that should have been considered before the prescription was issued.

If the mistake may have happened when the medicine was dispensed, pharmacy records can be used by your solicitor to establish what was actually supplied. Your later medical records can then document the harm caused by the error, including any treatment you needed after an adverse reaction or overdose.

When Does The Deadline For A Prescription Error Claim Expire?

The deadline for a prescription error claim will generally expire 3 years from the date the medication error caused you harm or the date you first became aware of the substandard care. This is set by the Limitation Act 1980, and our dedicated guide to the limitation period explains when different rules may affect the deadline for starting a claim.

Determining when you first had sufficient knowledge of the harm can be particularly important where the effects of incorrect medication were not immediately apparent.

Could A Solicitor Handle My Prescription Error Claim On A No Win No Fee Basis?

Yes, a solicitor from our panel could handle your prescription error claim on a No Win No Fee basis if they assess your case and agree to represent you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee agreement that sets out how the solicitor’s service fees will be handled depending on the outcome of your claim.

If a solicitor from our panel offers you a CFA:

• You will not pay service fees upfront for them to begin working on your claim.
• You will not pay ongoing service fees while the claim is being pursued.
• If the claim is unsuccessful, you will not pay your solicitor’s service fees.

If the claim goes in your favour, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation. The percentage of this fee is agreed with you beforehand and is subject to a legal cap. These terms will be explained before you enter into the agreement, giving you the opportunity to understand how the arrangement will apply to your prescription error claim.

If concerns about paying a solicitor have stopped you from finding out how to sue for a prescription error, contact our advisors. They can check whether a solicitor from the panel could consider taking your case forward under a No Win No Fee arrangement.

What Our Team Can Do To Support Your Claim

If your case is accepted, a specialist medical negligence solicitor from our panel can take responsibility for the legal work while you focus on your health. Their work will focus on establishing how the medication mistake occurred and the compensation that may be appropriate for the harm it caused.

Throughout your claim, they can:

• Identify who the prescription error claim should be brought against, where the mistake may have begun with the prescribing decision or occurred when the medication was dispensed.
• Build a cohesive account of your prescription error, using prescribing records and, where needed, independent medical evidence to address whether a contraindication was missed or a drug interaction made the prescription unsafe.
• Value your prescription error claim carefully by assessing the avoidable harm caused by the medication error and the financial consequences that followed, so the effect of an adverse reaction or delayed effective treatment is properly reflected in the compensation sought.
• Handle communications about your prescription error claim through direct contact with the healthcare provider’s representatives, ensuring you are not left managing those exchanges or trying to interpret legal correspondence alone.
• Guide your case towards a resolution and advise you on any settlement offer, making clear whether it properly reflects the medication-related harm included in your case before you decide how to proceed.

Speak With How To Sue About A Prescription Error

You do not need to determine whether the mistake occurred at your GP surgery, hospital or pharmacy before seeking help. Our advisors at How To Sue can discuss what happened and assess whether your circumstances could be referred to a specialist medical negligence solicitor from the panel.

If your case is accepted, the solicitor can explain the next steps and begin investigating the medication error on your behalf.

• Call us on 0800 408 7827
• Contact us online
• Use our live chat.

More Information

Read more of our guides:

• Learn when you could sue for a delayed diagnosis.
• Guidance on suing for breast cancer misdiagnosis.
• Advice on how to sue for care home negligence.

Resources:

• Information on prescriptions via the NHS.
• Standards for pharmacy professionals via the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Learning from medication errors via the NHS Resolution.

Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue for a prescription error.