Have you been wrongly prescribed quinine and suffered physically or mentally as a result? This guide explains how medical negligence claims for prescription errors work, covering the responsibility medical professionals have to provide the right standard of care and the criteria for proving that you are eligible to seek compensation.
Quinine, a medicine typically used to treat malaria, can be prescribed for other conditions. However, if you are prescribed quinine by mistake, this could have detrimental effects on your health. We discuss not only forms of evidence that could be used to show how you suffered but also how a medical professional may have been negligent.
As the guide progresses, we outline the compensation that can address the impact of medical negligence on your health and finances. Finally, you can learn more about the support an expert solicitor could provide in a case.
Wrongly Prescribed Quinine Claims Guide
Speak to our advisors today to learn more and have your potential claim assessed:
- Call 0800 652 3087.
- Discuss your claim online.
- Use the live chat pop-up on this page.
Select A Section
- How To Make A Claim If You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed Quinine
- What Are The Adverse Effects Of Quinine?
- How To Prove You Were Wrongly Prescribed Quinine
- What Could You Claim If You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed A Medication?
- Start A Claim With A No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor
- Learn More About Prescription Negligence Claims
How To Make A Claim If You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed Quinine
Professionals working in a medical facility have a duty towards their patients to provide at least the minimum standard of care. You might be prescribed quinine and suffer painful side effects, but this does not mean that a medical professional made a mistake.
However, you could be able to claim compensation after being wrongly prescribed quinine if the professional was negligent. For example, a GP may have put you on a course of quinine in error because they failed to listen correctly to your symptoms and misdiagnosed you, or a doctor might have prescribed it in a hospital when you have a known allergy to one of its ingredients.
A medical negligence claim needs to show that:
- A medical professional owed you a duty of care.
- They failed to provide the correct level of care, breaching their duty.
- This breach led to you experiencing unnecessary physical and/or mental harm.
How Long You Have To Claim
Due to The Limitation Act 1980, you have three years to start a medical negligence compensation claim. This may be three years from the negligent prescription occurring or from the date it becomes apparent that a medication error which led to harm was due to a breach of duty.
However, certain cases may have a different time limit. To learn about these exceptions and ask questions about proving a claim’s eligibility, please call and speak to one of our knowledgeable advisors.
What Are The Adverse Effects Of Quinine?
Quinine is a drug that may be used to treat malaria but can also be prescribed for other conditions, such as nocturnal leg cramps.
The Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, a government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines are safe, notes that quinine can cause:
- Abdominal pain.
- Confusion.
- Disturbed vision.
- Headaches.
- Impaired hearing.
- Tinnitus.
In rare cases, thrombocytopenia could ensue. This is a blood issue which can be linked to bleeding. An overdose of quinine is toxic and can bring about permanent blindness or death.
Call today if you have been wrongly prescribed quinine and have experienced effects so we can examine your chances of seeking compensation.
How To Prove You Were Wrongly Prescribed Quinine
As mentioned above, to make a medical negligence claim, the medical professional must have breached their duty of care which has led to you suffering avoidable harm. You will need to show this in order to make a claim. Examples of applicable evidence include:
- Medical records. They can show who treated you and owed a duty of care.
- Proof of your prescription, such as a prescription note or a labelled medicine package.
- Witness contact details.
The outcome of a Bolam Test. A group of medical professionals with training in the relevant field review the care provided and determine if the correct standard was reached. You do not need to set up this test yourself.
If one of our solicitors agrees to take on your claim, you could ask them to help you put together this evidence. They could also guide you through getting an independent medical assessment, which would be arranged during the case.
Speak to an advisor if you would like to learn more or want advice on evidence collection.
What Could You Claim If You Have Been Wrongly Prescribed A Medication?
If your medical negligence claim for being wrongly prescribed quinine succeeds, the payout will address up to two forms of damage.
General damages account for the physical pain or mental suffering that occurs because of the medical professional’s breach of duty.
Legal professionals will calculate a payout by applying a value to each injury. They might get help with this from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a document featuring compensation guideline brackets for different injuries at various levels of severity.
Compensation Table
We have used the JCG to put together this table of guideline compensation figures. Please note that it is only a guide, and the payout for medical negligence claims varies from case to case.
| INJURY | DESCRIPTION | NOTES | COMPENSATION GUIDELINES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senses | Injuries Affecting Sight (a) | Total blindness and deafness, considered as ranking alongside the most devastating injuries. | In the region of £403,990 |
| Injuries Affecting Sight (b) | Complete blindness in both eyes. | In the region of £268,720 | |
| Deafness/Tinnitus (b) | Total deafness. The higher end of the bracket is appropriate for cases where the person has tinnitus and a speech deficit. | £90,750 to £109,650 | |
| Deafness/Tinnitus (c) | A higher award will be granted if there are further complications like tinnitus, dizziness and headaches. | £31,310 to £45,540 | |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (d) (i) | Cases of severe tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss. | £29,710 to £45,540 | |
| Brain | Moderate (iii) | Concentration and memory are damaged. The injured person has a reduced ability to work and increased risk of epilepsy. | £43,060 to £90,720 |
| Bladder | Serious Impairment of Control | Some pain and incontinence occurs. | £63,980 to £79,930 |
| Digestive System | Illness/Damage Resulting from Non-traumatic Injury (i) | Severe toxicosis leads to vomiting, serious acute pain, diarrhoea and fever. The affected person is hospitalised for days or weeks. There is a significant impact on their ability to enjoy life. | £38,430 to £52,500 |
| Kidney | Loss of One Kidney | There is no damage to the other. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
Further Compensation
Special damages could additionally feature in a medical negligence claim payout. This compensates you for the financial impact of the medical negligence. By collecting proof of your losses, you could seek reimbursement for expenses caused by the harm which resulted from wrong prescription negligence, like:
- A loss of earnings if you cannot work.
- Travel fees.
- Medical costs, including prescriptions.
- Home healthcare payments.
Call us and speak to an advisor if you have any questions about compensation and what you could include in your claim for being wrongly prescribed quinine.
Start A Claim With A No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Solicitor
Call today, and you can find out if you have a legitimate compensation claim for being wrongly prescribed quinine. If you do, you could benefit from the expert support of one of our medical negligence solicitors. They could make the process smoother and calmer for you, with the added bonus of a Conditional Fee Agreement, meaning that you wouldn’t pay for their work upfront or during the case.
Moreover, these No Win No Fee terms mean no solicitor fee if the claim fails. Should you win, a small portion of your compensation would be taken off as the solicitor’s success fee. The percentage that goes their way is capped because of The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
Contact Us
Talking to our advisors is completely free and there is no obligation to start a claim once you call. An advisor can answer any questions you may have, explain how the process works, and collect details of your experience for a full assessment of a potential claim. You could then be connected to one of our solicitors for further support.
You can get started right away or at a time that suits you through any of these routes:
- Calling 0800 652 3087.
- Sending a message about your claim online.
- Joining an advisor on live chat below.
Learn More About Prescription Negligence Claims
Some further useful guides from our archives:
- You may be asking, ‘How long does a medical negligence claim take?’ This guide addresses that question.
- Information on how to complain about a misdiagnosis error by a medical professional.
- Claiming for an opiate overdose due to a medication error is explained in this article.
These resources could also help:
- Information on the NHS Constitution from the government’s website.
- Ethical guidance for doctors from the General Medical Council.
- Government information on seeking Statutory Sick Pay if you are too ill to work.
Please do not hesitate to call if we can help you or answer your questions. Thank you for reading our guide on claiming compensation if you have been wrongly prescribed quinine.