How To Report Medication Errors And Claim Compensation

How To Report Medication Errors?

How To Report Medication Errors And Claim Compensation

Are you wondering how to report medication errors? Has a medical professional provided you with the wrong medication? If a medication error has harmed you, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

In this guide, we will explain what exactly a medication error is and the certain criteria you need to meet in order for a claim to be valid. Additionally, we will explore how much compensation you could potentially receive if you suffered harm due to medical negligence.

If you still have any questions about making a medical negligence claim after finishing this guide, you can contact our team of friendly advisors. Our advisors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to offer you free legal advice in regard to your potential claim.

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What Are Medication Errors?

Medication errors are a Patient Safety Incident (PSI) that can involve an error at any stage of preparing, prescribing, monitoring, administering or dispensing of medication.

There are several medical professionals who could be responsible for a medication error, such as a doctor, a pharmacist or a prescribing nurse. Additionally, medication errors can happen in various medical settings, including a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

All healthcare professionals, both public and private, owe their patients a duty of care. As part of this duty of care, they must ensure that all of their patients receive the correct standard of care.

Additionally, before any medical professional prescribes you any medication, they must assess what current medication you are taking. This is to ensure that the medication they wish to prescribe you won’t affect the current medication you are taking. If a medical professional didn’t do this, you could potentially suffer various effects.

To make a valid claim for a medication error, you need to prove that you suffered harm due to a medical professional breaching their duty of care to you.

Contact our advisors for more information on how to report medication errors and claim compensation.

Types Of Medication Errors

There are various ways that a medical professional could be responsible for a medication error, such as:

  • GP medical negligence could cause a medication error. E.g. they prescribe you medication that contains a known allergen, i.e. the allergen is recorded in your medical notes. You suffer an allergic reaction as a result of taking this incorrect medication.
  • A pharmacy could provide you with the wrong prescription as they mix yours up with another patient.
  • A nurse could administrate the incorrect medication dosage (either too much or not enough).

Remember, in order to make a valid medical negligence claim, you need to prove that because a medical professional breached their duty of care, you suffered avoidable harm.

Who Should Report Medication Errors?

Regardless of whether a private or public healthcare professional was responsible for the medication error, you should inform the facility that has provided you with incorrect medication immediately. Seeking help after taking the incorrect or wrong prescription is vital to ensure that any treatment you need is provided.

Once you have reported the Patient Safety Incident medical professionals working within the NHS can then record any reportable incidents on the National Reporting and Learning Systems or the new Patient Safety Incident Management System (PSIMS).

Additionally, you can make a direct complaint to the healthcare service responsible for the medication error, e.g. a pharmacy, hospital or GP surgery.

If you believe you have taken incorrect medication, please seek the appropriate medical treatment as soon as possible. Additionally, you can contact our advisors for more information on how to report medication errors and claim compensation.

How To Claim If Affected By Medication Errors

In order to make a valid medical negligence claim for a medication error, there are certain criteria you must prove. Evidence that you could provide to help support your claim are:

  • Correspondents with the medical setting you have made the complaint to.
  • Gather evidence to provide proof of medical negligence. For example, if a doctor gave you the wrong prescription, please keep a copy of that prescription.
  • And, medical records stating the effects the medication error has had on your health.
  • Financial evidence, such as bank statements, proving any financial losses accrued due to the harm caused by a medical professional breaching their duty of care to you.

Additionally, you must ensure that you start your claim within the relevant time limit. These are:

  • 3 years from the date of medical negligence.
  • 3 years from the date you discovered you had suffered medical negligence.

For more information on the time limits for medical negligence claims or how to report medication errors and claim compensation, contact our team.

Medical Negligence Compensation Amounts

If you decide to make a medical negligence claim for a medication error,  your settlement could be divided into two types of damages:

  • General damages seek to compensate you for the physical and mental harm you have suffered as a result of a medical professional breaching their duty of care. This also includes how your quality of life was impacted.
  • Special damages seek to compensate you for the financial losses you have suffered as a result of medical negligence, e.g. lost wages or paying for private medical care.

To successfully claim for either, you will need to provide sufficient evidence. This could be a copy of your medical records for general damages and bank statements for special damages.

To help you understand how much you could receive in general damages when making a compensation claim, we have created the following table.  The amounts we have listed have been taken from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

We have used the compensation brackets listed in the JCG because it is a document many solicitors will use to help them value claims. It is important to note that how much you could receive in compensation will depend on your specific claim, so only use this table as a guide.

Injury SustainedNotes On This InjuryPotential Compensation
Kidney(a) Permanent and serious damage to both kidneys. Or both kidneys have been lost.£169,400 to £210,400
Kidney(b) Injuries to the kidney causing significant risk of natural function being lost. There could also be the risk of developing a urinary tract infection (UTI).Up to £63,980
Bowels(b) The person has been left reliant on a colostomy as natural bowel function has been lost.Up to £150,110
Bladder(c) Control of the bladder is seriously impaired. This could cause incontinence and pain.£63,980 to £79,930
The Female Reproductive System(c) Infertility with no aggravating features in a young person without children£56,080 to £71,350
The Male Reproductive System(d) Uncomplicated sterility without impotence in a young person without children.£56,080 to £71,350
Impairment of Taste and Smell(a) A complete loss of smell and taste.In the reign of £39,170
Spleen(a) The injury has caused the loss of the spleen. This also impacts the immune system and puts the person at risk of internal infections.£20,800 to £26,290

Learn More About How To Report Medication Errors

Please get in touch with our advisors today if you would like further information on how to report medication errors and make a medical negligence claim. Additionally, we can offer you free legal advice in regard to your medical negligence claim.

Furthermore, we could put you in contact with our experienced solicitors who could take on your claim via a No Win No Fee basis.

With this type of agreement, you are not expected to pay anything upfront to your solicitor to start your claim. Additionally, you will not have to pay them for their services if your claim fails. Alternatively,  you will pay them a success fee that is legally capped if your claim succeeds. This will be taken from your compensation.

There are different types of No Win No Fee agreements, one of them being a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Your agreement may be referred to by a different name, such as a CFA, rather than a No Win No Fee.

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More Information On Medical Negligence Claims

For more guides on medical negligence claims:

Alternatively, if you are looking for further information:

Contact our advisors today if you have questions about this guide on how to report medication errors and make a compensation claim.