When you go to an Asda Pharmacy to fill a prescription you have been given, you would expect that the medication you leave the pharmacy with would be in accordance with what was prescribed to you. But what happens if it isn’t? If you have suffered avoidable harm because of an Asda Pharmacy prescription error, you may be wondering whether you could take action against the pharmacy to claim compensation. This guide covers pharmacy wrong medication negligence claims in detail, so you can understand what action you could take.
Below, you will find information relating to reporting pharmacy mistakes, calculating medical negligence compensation, and checking your eligibility to make a claim. If you would like to benefit from actionable advice concerning your Asda Pharmacy prescription error, then why not reach out to us for free advice on 0800 652 3087. We look forward to speaking with you.
Choose A Topic
- A Guide On Making An Asda Pharmacy Prescription Error Claim
- What Is Wrong Medication Negligence?
- Common Types Of Prescription Error
- Side Effects Of Being Given The Wrong Medication
- Are There Time Limits To Make A Prescription Error Claim?
- What Compensation Could I Claim? – Prescription Error Calculator
- No Win No Fee Claims For Asda Pharmacy Prescription Errors
- How Medical Negligence Assist Could Help
- Start Your Wrong Medication Claim
- Further Information
A Guide On Making An Asda Pharmacy Prescription Error Claim
When you visit a pharmacy to fill a prescription, you may choose one contained within a supermarket for convenience. You would expect that the right medication was supplied, according to the prescription given. But what if the pharmacy gives the wrong medication? Could you be harmed by this – and if you could, could you take any action against the pharmacy?
This guide looks in detail if you could take any action against Asda Pharmacy for wrong medication negligence. In the sections below we explore how such negligence could occur, what harm it could cause you, and what action you could take to redress the balance. Also included below is detailed information about how to claim compensation, how compensation payouts are calculated, and how you could make a claim without having to pay for legal assistance upfront.
What Is Wrong Medication Negligence?
Pharmacists in every pharmacy in the UK are expected to adhere to certain standards of care. These include acting responsibly to ensure that the supply of medications is appropriate for each patient and ensuring that they follow procedures to avoid the unsafe supply of medications to patients using their services. If a pharmacist fails in their duty of care to provide you with a safe, effective service, and you suffer avoidable harm because of this, you could be entitled to claim for harm caused when wrong medication is given by a pharmacy.
What Happens If A Pharmacist Makes A Mistake?
If a pharmacist makes an error with a prescription, this could lead to a patient being given the wrong medication, the wrong dosage of medication, or the wrong instructions for taking their medication. This could lead to a number of symptoms that could detrimentally affect a patient’s health.
How Are Errors Logged In A Dispensing Pharmacy?
A pharmacist has a responsibility to report dispensing errors to the National Reporting and Learning Service. However, you could report the error to a number of different parties yourself if you have concerns over the service offered by your pharmacy. You could inform the NHS if you were dispensed the wrong medication on an NHS prescription, or you could choose to report your concerns about a pharmacy to the General Pharmaceutical Council.
When It’s Not The Pharmacy’s Fault
Some incidents in which you receive the wrong medication may not result in an Asda Pharmacy wrong medication negligence claim. This is because it may not be the pharmacy’s fault you have received the wrong medication. If your GP made an error on your prescription, the pharmacist may not be aware of this, and if they dispense the medication as per the prescription and it causes you harm, this could be due to the GP’s negligence, and not the pharmacy. This could mean you claim against your GP.
A pharmacist does, however, have a responsibility to make sure medicines are suitable for patients. Therefore, if they receive a prescription with a glaring error on it, they should check this with the person prescribing the medication before dispensing it.
Common Types Of Prescription Error
The type of pharmacy prescription error you could suffer could be due to one of the following mistakes.
A Pharmacist Delayed Your Prescription
Pharmacies should have a good supply of common medicines, overseeing the supply chain to ensure that they are able to fill most prescriptions quickly. If they delay your prescription and you run out of medication, this could cause your medical condition to get worse.
A Pharmacist Caused A Dangerous Drug Interaction
If you were prescribed medication and were already taking other medication, your doctor should check whether the new medication could adversely interact with your other medication. Likewise, when doctors prescribe more than one medication at once, they should ensure that these do not interact negatively. However, if Asda Pharmacy medication error leads to you being given the wrong medication, there could be a chance that it could interact with other medication, which could lead you to suffer unpleasant symptoms.
A Pharmacist Dispensed Medication You Are Allergic To
As per the above section, a doctor should take care when prescribing medication to ensure you do not suffer unpleasant avoidable symptoms. Your medical record should show known allergies and your doctor should avoid prescribing medication that contains ingredients you are known to be allergic to. However, if the pharmacy you visit gets your prescription wrong, they could dispense medication that you are allergic to, which could lead to you suffering an unpleasant allergic reaction.
It would be wise for us to point out here that not all allergic reactions to medication would lead to a medical negligence claim. If you suffered an allergic reaction to new medication without knowing you had allergies to it, this would not be likely lead to a claim.
A Pharmacist Dispensed An Incorrect Dosage
Not only should pharmacists ensure they dispense the right medication, they should take care to ensure that the dosage was correct too. If they dispense the wrong dosage of medication due to an error, you could suffer an overdose, or your medical condition might not be treated appropriately. This could cause you harm.
A Pharmacist Dispensed The Wrong Persons Medication
You would expect that there would be a robust procedure in place to prevent patients being given the wrong person’s medication. If, however, safety procedures to prevent mix-ups with medications fail, you could be given someone else’s prescription. Taking someone else’s medication could cause you to suffer harm in a variety of ways. You can read more about these in the sections below.
A Pharmacist Dispensed The Wrong Medication
If you were given the wrong medication due to Asda Pharmacy medication negligence, this could lead you to take medicine you do not need or medication that is not the right dosage for your needs. This could also cause you harm.
Side Effects Of Being Given The Wrong Medication
A variety of side-effects could be suffered by a patient if they take the wrong medication. Pharmacy wrong medication negligence could cause:
An overdose of medication – If a pharmacy mistake leads to someone taking too much medication, either because they were given incorrect instructions regarding how to take their medication, or because the wrong dosage was dispensed, this could cause them to suffer an overdose. The symptoms suffered by patients who have overdosed could range from rashes and headaches to dizziness, difficulty breathing, and even unconsciousness or death.
The undertreatment of an illness or medical condition – If you were given the wrong medication or too low a dose of medication due to an Asda Pharmacy prescription error, it could cause your medical condition to go untreated or undertreated. Depending on your illness or medical condition, this could cause your condition to worsen, and it could mean that your illness becomes more difficult to treat.
A drug reaction – If you were not prescribed a certain medication but it was dispensed to you in error, you could suffer an avoidable drug reaction. Whether this is due to an interaction between the wrong medication and the medication you are currently taking, or due to the fact that you did not need the medication, this could cause a number of unpleasant symptoms.
An allergic reaction – If you are allergic to a drug, for example, penicillin, and an Asda Pharmacy prescription error led to you being dispensed medication that contained penicillin, this could cause you to suffer an allergic reaction. This could range in severity, and could even lead to anaphylaxis.
Are There Time Limits To Make A Prescription Error Claim?
There are some time limits to making a claim for pharmacy wrong medication negligence. Like, the personal injury claims time limit, the limitation period for pharmacy error claims would normally be 3 years. However, the date that this three-year limitation period would begin could differ, depending on the circumstances of your case.
This is because sometimes, the effects of a drug mix up could be apparent immediately after they have been taken, whereas with others, you may not know you have suffered avoidable harm until much later.
Below, we have put a table together illustrating what times limits could apply to a variety of different situations. Some exceptions could apply, however. If you’re not sure which would apply to your Asda Pharmacy prescription error claim, or whether you’d be within the time limit for claiming why not call us on 0800 652 3087 for clarification?
| Situation | Relevant time limit |
|---|---|
| A parent claiming on behalf of a child they are responsible for (litigation friend) | Up to the child’s 18th birthday |
| A claimant injured as a child who has reached their 18th birthday | Until their 21st birthday. |
| A claimant that was aware of avoidable harm being caused straight away | 3 years from the date of the incident. |
| A claimant finding out later that avoidable harm had been caused by wrong medication negligence. | 3 years from the discovery date. |
If you are close to the time bar for your case, it may be prudent of your medical negligence solicitor to issue what is known as protective proceedings. This would mean the claimant or lawyer would have some time to gather evidence and investigate the claim further so that they could build a strong argument. It could also give time for a settlement to be negotiated.
What Compensation Could I Claim? – Prescription Error Calculator
If you’re unsure as to the amount of compensation you could be entitled to, you may have searched online for a medical negligence claims calculator, which could work in a similar fashion to a personal injury claims calculator, to give you an approximation of your potential payout. However, it is vital for claimants to note that any figures offered by such calculators would only be approximate. This is because a claim is calculated based on the medical evidence submitted. This would include a medical report from an independent medic who you would be required to see as part of any medical negligence claim.
We have chosen not to include a claims calculator on this page. We have, however, chosen to display some guideline payout amounts for injuries that we feel could relate to pharmacy wrong medication negligence claims. We feel this could give claimants a rough idea of how much in terms of general damages, they could be entitled to. General damages the compensation you could receive for your pain, suffering, and loss of amenity that has been caused by your injuries.
The figures you can see in the table come from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that is updated yearly with guideline compensation brackets for named injuries.
| Claim Type | Compensation | Further details |
|---|---|---|
| Non-traumatic Injury | Up to 49,270 | Injury symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, acute pain and fever. Some days or possibly weeks in hospital will be required and there will be further ongoing symptoms like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) incontinence and haemorrhoids. |
| Non-traumatic Injury | Up to £18,020 | Sort lived but serious symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea. These will reduce and clear up over a period of around 2 to 4 weeks. That said enjoyment of food, bowel function and sex life could all be impacted on for a few of years. |
| Non-traumatic Injury | Up to £8,950 | Injury symptoms such as fatigue, stomach cramps and alteration of the bowel function. They will cause significant discomfort which require patient to stay in hospital for a few days. These symptoms might last for around few weeks . However, complete recovery could take as long as 1 to 2 years. |
| Non-traumatic Injury | Up to £3,710 | These injuries will result in symptoms with varying degrees of disabling pain. They could include diarrhoea and stomach cramps which last no more than a few weeks. |
| Bowels | Up to £65,440 | This kind of damage will result in impairment of bowel function. |
| Bladder | Up to £75,010 | Damage which causes pain with impairment of control as well as incontinence. |
| Kidney | Up to £60,050 | This kidney damage could cause a significant risk of future urinary tract infection or the loss of kidney function. |
Not only could you claim for the general damages mentioned above you could also receive compensation for expenses sustained as a direct result of your injuries caused by a pharmacy prescription error. These could include loss of earnings, care, travel and medical costs.
We should mention the importance of retaining proof of such expenses. This could be in the form of bank statements, bills, receipts and payslips. Without evidence of your expenses, you would not be able to include them in your medical negligence claim.
No Win No Fee Claims For Asda Pharmacy Prescription Errors
Some claimants might prefer to seek out the services of a medical negligence solicitor to help them with their claim. There are certainly some benefits of doing so. If you decided to retain the services of a medical negligence lawyer, you would not have to do all the hard work of proving your claim and putting together all the evidence into a convincing argument for compensation. In addition to this, you could rely on a lawyer to give you advice on any settlement offers you may receive from the liable party. While some first offers might be appropriate for your Asda Pharmacy wrong medication negligence claim, some may be far too low, and your lawyer could advise you whether, with their help, you could fight on for a higher payout than you’d been offered.
Retaining the services of a No Win No Fee lawyer doesn’t mean you would have to pay them in advance. In fact, you wouldn’t even need to pay them throughout the duration of your dispensing error claim. Instead, you’d sign a document called a Conditional Fee Agreement at the start of your claim, which you would promise to pay them a success fee if they were able to secure you a compensation payout. The success fee would usually be a small percentage of your total payout and would be capped by law. This success fee would only be due once your compensation had been paid, and if the lawyer doesn’t get you any compensation, you wouldn’t be liable to pay them for their services.
How Medical Negligence Assist Could Help
Here at Medical Negligence Assist, we could help answer any questions you may have about making a claim for compensation. Our dedicated, professional and knowledgeable advisors could assess your eligibility and provide you with actionable advice regarding your Asda pharmacy wrong medication negligence claim, and we could do so free of charge, with no obligation for you to use our services.
If, however, we believe you could be entitled to claim compensation, we could help you get started with the claims process by connecting you with a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor who could help fight your case for you.
We have experience in helping claimants successfully begin claims for a variety of different types of medical negligence. Our commitment to customer service and our knowledge of the ins and outs of medical negligence claims allows us to offer guidance and support to a vast range of clients from all walks of life. We’re committed to providing a quality service and we are delighted to have received many word-of-mouth recommendations from former clients, which we feel is a clear sign that our service is a great one.
We’d be happy to help you in any way that we can, so why not get in touch with the Medical Negligence Assist team today?
Start Your Wrong Medication Claim
If you’d like to get started with an Asda Pharmacy prescription error claim or to check whether you could be entitled to compensation, you can reach us in a number of different ways. If you’d like to talk to one of our advisors over the phone, you could call us directly on 0800 652 3087, or fill in the contact form and have us call you. Alternatively, why not use the Live Chat service on the website?
Further Information
GP Prescribe The Wrong Medication? – If you suffered harm due to wrong medication negligence because of an error made by your GP, this guide could be of use to you.
Misdiagnosis Leading To A Medical Negligence Claim – To learn more about misdiagnosis and how it could lead you to be prescribed the wrong medication, why not read this useful guide?
Pharmacy Compensation Claims – Here, we take a detailed look at how to make a pharmacy medical negligence claim.
NHS Improvement Scheme For Medication Error Incidents – Here, you can read more about what the NHS is doing to reduce medication errors.
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee – Here, you can read more about pharmacy services, including some statistics relating to the dispensing of medicines.
Your Pharmacy’s Inspection Report – Here, you can read more about any inspections your pharmacy may have had.
Written by Jo
Edited by Lism.