You may be wondering how to complain about wrong medication errors, including being given the wrong medication entirely or the wrong dosage. This guide will explore the bodies that you could direct your complaint to, as well as the process that may be involved in raising your concerns.
How To Complain About Wrong Medication Errors
Additionally, we look at whether you could potentially make a medical negligence claim after an error has been made with your medication.
Medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, owe a duty of care to patients. If there is a failure on the part of the medical professional to adhere to this duty, causing you to harm that could have otherwise been avoided, medical negligence may have occurred. You can find information on the eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to begin a claim of this nature later in our guide.
Furthermore, we look at how a wrong medication error could happen, the impact it could have, and the compensation that could potentially be awarded if a successful claim is made.
Finally, we will look at the benefits of working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, should you have an eligible medical negligence claim and want their representation to support your case. To find out if you can appoint a solicitor from our panel, contact our advisors now. To do so, you can:
- Call us on 0800 652 3087
- Fill in our form to enquire about your claim online
- Speak with an advisor via our live chat function.
Jump To A Section
- How To Complain About Wrong Medication Errors
- Can You Take Legal Action For A Wrong Medication Error?
- What Wrong Medication Errors Could You Complain About?
- Examples Of Payouts For Wrong Medication Errors
- Could You Claim For Wrong Medication Errors With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
- Discover More About How To Complain About Wrong Medication Errors
How To Complain About Wrong Medication Errors
If you are wondering how to complain about wrong medication errors, it’s important to note that the way in which you submit your complaint will differ depending on the service provider.
Firstly, you could submit your complaint directly to the service provider. Alternatively, some of the bodies you could raise your concerns to include:
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) – The British regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and registered pharmacies. They can investigate concerns brought to them, including where there may be a patient safety risk.
- General Medical Council (GMC) – The independent regulator for UK doctors. They can investigate concerns.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) – The independent regulator for health and social care in England. Although they can’t resolve concerns or raise complaints on behalf of the public, they can use any information provided to them as a way to improve care for everyone.
How We Could Help You Complain And Claim Compensation
If you would like help with making your complaint about wrong medication errors, get in touch with our team of advisors. They can assist you in raising your concern to the most relevant body.
Additionally, they can assess your case to determine whether you’re eligible to make a clinical or medical negligence claim. For further information, use the number above to get in touch.
Can You Take Legal Action For A Wrong Medication Error?
To have valid grounds to begin a medical negligence claim, you must be able to show that:
- A duty of care was owed to you by a medical professional.
- This duty was breached.
- Due to the breach, you suffered harm that was avoidable or unnecessary.
Medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care. This means they are required to provide care that meets the correct standard. The way in which they are expected to uphold this duty can differ depending on the specific field of medicine they specialise in.
However, if they fail to uphold their duty by providing care that falls below the correct standard, and you’re caused avoidable harm, it may be possible for you to seek compensation for medical negligence.
What Is The Time Limit For Taking Legal Action?
In addition to ensuring your claim meets the eligibility criteria listed above, you must also ensure legal proceedings are started within the limitation period for medical negligence claims.
As per the Limitation Act 1980, you generally have three years from when medical negligence occurred, or the when you became aware medical negligence occurred, to begin your claim. However, exceptions can be made in certain circumstances.
For further information on the time limits and their exceptions, please get in touch with an advisor on the number above. They can also discuss your eligibility to make a medical negligence claim and give more information on how to complain about wrong medication errors.
What Wrong Medication Errors Could You Complain About?
There are several scenarios where the wrong medication could be given to a patient; below, we provide some examples.
- Prescription error: You may be prescribed the wrong medication by your doctor. As a result, you experience damage to your organs.
- Wrong medication dosage: A medication calculation error is made when administering you with medicine. As a result, you receive a higher dosage than you need causing you symptoms of an overdose.
- Pharmacy error: When preparing your prescription, a pharmacist may have included the wrong medication. This may have resulted in you taking medication alongside other tablets that reacted badly with one another.
It’s important to note that not all instances of a medication error will form the basis of a valid claim. To do so, you would need to prove medical negligence has occurred.
To discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to seek medical negligence compensation, call an advisor on the number above.
Examples Of Payouts For Wrong Medication Errors
If you make a successful medical negligence claim, your settlement could consist of two kinds of damages. The first is general damages, compensating you for the pain and suffering you’ve endured because of medical negligence. The amount you could receive would depend on factors such as:
- The severity of the harm you’ve suffered and how it has impacted your life
- Any loss of enjoyment you’ve dealt with
- Your treatments and recovery time
To help value this portion of your medical negligence claim, a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) could be utilised. This document contains guideline award brackets that correlate to different types of harm with varying degrees of severity. Medical evidence could also be used alongside these figures.
You can find some of the figures from the JCG in the table below. However, since each individual case is unique, these figures are not a guarantee.
Compensation Table
| Harm | Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Brain Damage | £282,010 to £403,990 | The person needs full-time care. |
| Kidney | £169,400 to £210,400 | Serious and permanent damage to both kidneys, or loss of both kidneys. |
| Bowels | Up to £150,110 | Complete loss of natural function and a dependence on colostomy. |
| Bladder | Up to £140,660 | Function and control are completely lost. |
| Digestive System - Illness Or Damage From Non-Traumatic Injury (i) | £38,430 to £52,500 | Severe toxicosis which results in serious acute pain, fever, and vomiting. Hospital admission is required for a period of time. |
| Spleen | £20,800 to £26,290 | Loss of spleen with an ongoing risk of internal infection and disorders because of a damaged immune system. |
Special Damages
The second kind of damages you could receive is special damages. Special damages compensate you for financial losses you have suffered due to medical negligence, both in the past and the future. It is important that you keep any evidence you have of these losses to ensure you’re fully compensated for them.
Examples of costs you could claim back and the evidence that could prove them include:
- Payslips, which can outline any lost earnings.
- Receipts, which can show the money you’ve paid for domestic care.
- Travel tickets, which demonstrate any travel costs, such as having to take taxis or public transport to and from medical appointments.
A solicitor from our panel could help you gather evidence, as part of the services they offer. Contact our team of advisors today to find out the validity of your medical negligence claim. If you have valid grounds to seek compensation, you could be connected with a solicitor who has experience handling medication error claims.
Could You Claim For Wrong Medication Errors With A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
You may wish to consider instructing a solicitor who offers their services under No Win No Fee terms. The medical negligence solicitors from our panel offer a Conditional Fee Agreement, which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement.
This would typically mean that:
- You’ll have no upfront fees to pay for the solicitor’s services.
- You’ll have no ongoing costs to pay for the work completed on your claim by your solicitor.
- If your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay fees for the services provided by your solicitor.
- If your claim wins, you’ll pay a small, legally-capped percentage of the compensation you’re awarded to your solicitor. This is a success fee.
If you wish to work with a solicitor from our panel on this basis, contact our team of advisors now. Not only could they assign a solicitor to begin working on your case, provided it’s valid, they could also offer more insight into how to complain about wrong medication errors. To get in touch, you can:
- Call on 0800 652 3087
- Fill in our form to enquire about your claim online
- Speak with us via our live chat function below.
Discover More About How To Complain About Wrong Medication Errors
If you would like to read more of our guides, you can find some below:
- A guide on how to claim if you were given the wrong medication in a care home.
- Learn about making a claim due to a medication allergic reaction.
- Find out more about what you could do after a being given the wrong medication in a hospital.
For some external resources, look below:
- GMC – Professional Standards For Doctors
- GPC – Standards For Pharmacy Professionals
- NHS Resolution – Learning From Medication Errors
Thank you for reading our guide on how to complain about wrong medication errors. If you have any other questions, please call our team on the number above.
Guide by Will
Edited by Meg