Rowlands Pharmacy Prescription Error Claims Guide - How To Make A Wrong Medication Negligence Compensation Claim?

In this online guide, we are going to take a look at what could happen if a Rowlands Pharmacy was to make a prescription error which resulted in a patient’s health suffering. We go over the ways these mistakes could potentially happen, and the process involved in starting a compensation claim using a medical negligence lawyer, for a prescription error that has been classed as clinical negligence.

Every claim has its own unique idiosyncrasies. Meaning that this guide might not contain all of the information you need to answer every one of your questions. If this is so, we can still help you. All you need to do is talk to our team on 0800 652 3087. When you do, one of our expert advisors will answer all of your questions for you, and also tell you about the ways that we can help you with your claim.

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A Guide On Claims For Prescription Errors By A Rowlands Pharmacy
What Are Pharmacy Prescription Errors?
Top Prescription Errors Caused By Pharmacies
Symptoms Or Side Effects Caused By Prescription Errors
Time limits In Which To Claim For Wrong Medication Negligence
What Could You Claim? – Wrong Medication Error Calculator
No Win No Fee Claims For Wrong Medication Negligence
How The Medical Negligence Assist Team Could Help You
Start Your Pharmacy Prescription Error Claim
Further Information

A Guide On Claims For Prescription Errors By A Rowlands Pharmacy

In this online guide, we aim to show how if Rowlands Pharmacy gave you the wrong medication, clinical negligence could have occurred. And if it did, how a medical negligence solicitor could help you to make a claim, in the same way, that a personal injury solicitor can help you to make a personal injury claim for the harm you suffered.

The first part of this guide is given over to facts and information about pharmaceutical errors. We start with a top-level overview of what these mistakes can be, and also why you could be eligible to make a compensation claim if you become the victim of one. We have devoted several sections to each of the common kinds of pharmaceutical errors as well. Additionally, we cover some of the symptoms that could be manifested by a person who has become the victim of a pharmacy mistake.

The last part of this guide relates to some of the legal and financial aspects of the claims process. There is a time limit in place, within which you are going to need to begin your claim, and we have provided a table detailing the time limits that may apply. We have provided you with another table that you can use to get a rough estimate of how much you might to be able to claim in compensation. We follow up this table with a list of some of the kinds of damages you might receive if your claim is a success. The last sections of this guide explain how we can be of help to you, and also how a No Win, No Fee claim works.

You might have questions about the contents of this guide, specific aspects of your own claim, or the claims process in general. If you do, please talk to our team on the phone number at the end of the page. One of our expert advisors will be able to answer all of your questions, and also explain to you how we can help you to make your own claim.

What Are Pharmacy Prescription Errors?

When you visit your local pharmacy to pick up a prescription, negligence could be deemed to have taken place if:

You were given the wrong medication.
You were given the wrong dose of the right medication.
You were provided with the wrong instructions on how to take your medication.

Mistakes such as these could be seen as a failure of the pharmacist (and pharmacy staff) to fulfil their duty of care, to never cause avoidable harm to a patient. In order for your claim to be potentially valid, the following would need to be true:

You were owed a duty of care by the people working in a pharmacy.
This duty of care was not met, and this indirectly or directly caused your health to suffer.
Had the actions of the pharmacy staff been different, the harm your suffered could have been avoided.

In cases that exhibit these three circumstances, it could be possible for the victim to make a claim for medical negligence against the pharmacy. If you think this applies to your own circumstances, then please speak to one of our expert advisors to have your claim evaluated today.

Top Prescription Errors Caused By Pharmacies

There are different ways that you could be given the wrong medication due to negligence. As well as receive the wrong instructions about taking your medication, or even the wrong dose of the correct medication. In the sections below we will take a look at some of the forms that pharmaceutical errors could take.

Delays In Prescriptions Being Given By A Pharmacy

For some people, taking their medication regularly is critical, as it is treating a life-threatening medical condition. For these people, a delay in receiving their medication could potentially be lethal. A pharmacist could cause such a delay, by forgetting to order the medication in, ordering the wrong medication, etc.

Dangerous Interactions Between Different Drugs

Some types of medication have known interactions with others. It is the responsibility of your GP to ensure that you are not prescribed any medication that could conflict with another you are taking. Your pharmacist is expected to check this as well when providing you with over the counter medication. If a patient is harmed by a known interaction between two types of medication, they could be entitled to medical negligence compensation.

Dangerous Allergic Reactions To Your Medication

An allergy can range in severity from a skin rash, runny nose and puffy eyes, to death due to anaphylaxis. If you are erroneously given medication that you have a known allergy to, and this causes you some level of physical harm due to the symptoms of your allergy, then you could be in a position to make a medical negligence claim.

Delivering The Wrong Dosage Of A Medication

Taking too much medication could lead to an overdose. Taking too little medication could mean that your medical condition is not being treated, this could be catastrophic in some situations. If you are given the wrong dose of the right medication at a pharmacy, which causes you harm, then you could have a valid basis for claiming compensation

Delivering Another Person’s Medication

You should always check your prescription once it is given to you, to at least make sure it is yours. If you end up taking another person’s medication and become ill, the pharmacist could be held responsible and you may be able to make a compensation claim.

Delivering The Wrong Medication

If you have ever seen the backroom or the stock room of a pharmacy, you will know that the shelves are packed with hundreds, maybe thousands of different drugs and medicines. Often one medication will come in multiple forms and doses. If a mistake is made by a person working at a pharmacy when they are selecting medication from the shelves to fulfil a prescription, this could mean a patient is given the wrong drugs or the wrong dose of the right drug.

Symptoms Or Side Effects Caused By Prescription Errors

If you become the victim of a pharmaceutical error, taking the wrong medication or dose, or taking the medication in the wrong way due to the wrong instructions, your health can suffer in many ways. For example:

If you are given the wrong dose of medication or instructed to take medication too frequently, you could suffer an overdose.
Non-allergic reactions to medication can result in where other organs become involved to severe toxicosis.
Allergic reactions to medication can result in minor allergy symptoms such as puffy eyes or a rash, to anaphylaxis.
Taking the wrong medication may cause the original medical condition to become worse.

In the same way that a personal injury lawyer can help you make a claim if you are injured in an accident, a clinical negligence lawyer could help you make a claim if you are harmed by medical negligence. If you need some free legal advice on how to start such a claim, speak to one of our expert advisors today.

Time limits In Which To Claim For Wrong Medication Negligence

When you make a claim for an injury, there is a personal injury claims time limit that you have to begin your claim within. The same applies to making a medical negligence claim. The table below details the basic time limits:

Circumstances	Time Limit
The claimant is under the age of 18.	Three years from the claimant’s 18^th birthday, unless a litigation friend is making a claim on their behalf.
The claimant is over the age of 18.	Three years from the day that the negligence took place, or the day that a medical condition caused by the negligence was diagnosed.

In some rare cases, this time limit could be different. You might like to give our team a call on the number at the end of this page, an advisor will be able to tell you exactly what time limit will be applicable based on your own unique situation.

What Could You Claim? – Wrong Medication Error Calculator

If you have ever considered making an injury claim in the past, you may have tried using some type of personal injury claims calculator to get a general indication of the level of damages you might be able to claim for. You can use this table below in a similar fashion, to look up the range of compensation you might be able to claim for due to a medication mistake. This table is based on the published Judicial College Guidelines in England that refer to the value of a claim.

Health Issue	Compensation	Notes
Illness	£36,060 to £49,270	In this bracket, we would see illnesses that are potentially life-threatening and will require the victim to be quickly hospitalised for treatment. Symptoms would last for the long-term.

Illness	£8,950 to £18,020	In this bracket, we would see illnesses that are serious, but only short-lasting. The illness would manifest symptoms such as diarrhoea, muscle or stomach cramps, etc. But these symptoms would diminish. Long-term symptoms such as a negative effect on the victim’s sex life, loss of enjoyment of food, impaired bowel function, etc. could last for years.
Illness	£3,710 to £8,950	In this bracket, we would see illnesses that manifest symptoms such as diarrhoea, muscle or stomach cramps, problems with bowel function, general fatigue, etc. The victim may initially be hospitalised, with the main symptoms clearing up within a few weeks, but lingering symptoms may last up to two years.

Illness	£860 to £3,710	In this bracket, we would see illnesses that manifest symptoms such as diarrhoea, severe pain, or stomach cramps, etc. These symptoms would continue for up to several weeks.

You might decide that this table is not accurate enough and that you would prefer a personalised estimate of the amount you could claim, based on your own unique circumstances. If this is so, speak to our team and they will arrange for a lawyer to evaluate your claim for you.

If your claim is a success, you will be awarded a number of different kinds of damages that will make up your overall compensation settlement. These damages are paid for physical harm, financial losses, etc.

General damages are all related to the physical harm you have suffered. The settlement you receive will include general damages that have been calculated on how much pain and suffering you went through, how traumatic your treatment was, whether there will be any long-term or permanent health problems due to your illness, etc. General damages might be paid for reasons such as:

Stress and trauma due to being ill, especially if your illness lasted a long time.
Psychological damage.
Long-term or permanent impairment of function, such as a disability that will negatively affect your quality of life.
General pain and suffering caused by being ill.
Painful, traumatic or invasive treatment, that was required as part of the overall regime for curing your illness.

Special damages are all related to financial and other types of losses. You will need to provide documented proof to back up your claims. Special damages might include:

The costs you incurred due to having to hire a nurse to help take care of you at home.
To make up for any loss of earnings that were the result of you taking time away from work.
Your future earning potential being negatively affected due to reduced working capacity or even not being able to work at all in the future.
Compensation to cover out of pocket expenses such as train, bus tickets, etc.
Any private medical treatment that you had to pay for, that you couldn’t get on the National Health Service (NHS).

If you would like to know what kinds of damages you might be able to claim for, based on your own situation, then please speak to one of our expert advisors, they will be able to help you further.

No Win No Fee Claims For Wrong Medication Negligence

A No Win, No Fee claim uses a fee structure that is also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA is a great way to make sure you have access to the expert legal help you may require, while at the same time minimising the financial risks of doing so.

There would not be any fee levied for the lawyer to start working on your claim for you, or during the whole time, they are processing it. If you don’t receive any compensation and the claim fails, the lawyer will not ask you to pay their legal fees.

If you do win a compensation settlement, then at this time the lawyer will request that you pay them what is known as a success fee. This success fee is capped at 25% of the value of the compensation you received.

As you can see, you do not pay any of your lawyer’s legal fees until such time as your claim has been won and a compensation settlement received for you by your solicitor. If you don’t win your claim, you don’t pay your lawyer, it is that simple.

If you need more information on how a CFA works or would like to know if a CFA would be suitable for you, then please call our team on the number at the bottom of the page. One of our expert advisors will be able to assist you.

How The Medical Negligence Assist Team Could Help You

All you need to do is follow this simple three-step claims process:

Call our team on the number below and explain what has happened. They will answer all your questions and provide key information you need to know about making a claim.
An expert advisor will evaluate your claim to judge whether it is potentially valid or not. They will also be able to give you an indication of the level of damages you might be able to claim, the kinds of damages you might receive, etc.
If your claim is potentially valid, then a medical negligence lawyer will begin working on your claim for you. They will do all they can to make sure you win your claim, and also that you get the most compensation possible.

As you can see, these really are three simple steps. You can take care of this entire process by calling our team today. An advisor will walk you through the claims process and help you get your claim started as soon as possible.

Start Your Pharmacy Prescription Error Claim

Do you need some general advice on how to report a pharmacy mistake before starting a claim? Or perhaps you need specific information such as how much you might receive in compensation as a pharmacy error settlement? No matter what legal advice you need, we can help you. All you have to do is contact our team on 0800 652 3087. One of our advisors will then talk over your claim with you, answer all of your questions for you, and then explain to you how we can be of assistance in getting your claim underway.