The Official Pharmacy Negligence Claims Guide
April 11, 2019
The Official Pharmacy Negligence Claims Guide
In our official pharmacy negligence claims guide, we delve out informative tips on dealing with pharmaceutical mistakes and consequences.
Pharmacists are registered doctors and as such any mishandling of your prescriptions is a case of medical negligence. In some cases, the negligence may stem all the way back to your doctor as well. This is commonly the case regarding prescription notes that are writ in a poor fashion.
Prescription negligence or pharmacy negligence can have devastating consequences. Therefore, it’s our hope that this short Pharmacy Negligence Claims Guide clears up how to handle those consequences.
Some Examples of Pharmacy Negligence Claims
There are several ways that pharmacies could be negligent when it comes to their operation. This mistake could risk the life of one of their customers, as well. The fact is that some medications can cause allergic reactions, if not merely used by patients with a strong amount of care. If you receive the wrong medicine in your usual prescription dosages, you could accidentally overdose, and so on.
Some of the examples of pharmacy negligence include these below.
1. Administrative Issues
This often occurs from junior staff who have yet to reach their full qualification. The pharmacy and pharmacist on duty, however, is still responsible.
2. Incorrect Dispensing
This happens, in short, when you receive the wrong medication. The medication can either be in an incorrect pill bottle or in one you are familiar with. If you do not recognise your medication, always double-check to ensure you have the right one.
3. Incorrect Transcriptions
This is a product of a doctor’s poor handwriting on the prescription note. Not one to overlook, either: this example results in many incorrect prescriptions going out to patients.
What Are the Dangers of Pharmacy Negligence?
There are so many dangers when it comes to NHS medical negligence. On the light end of the scale, you could suffer from mild symptoms like nausea or headaches. In the worst-case scenario, you might have an allergic reaction to the medication and end up dead.
Even if you don’t die, an allergic reaction could cause permanent damage to your liver, kidneys, heart, and other vital areas in your body. It could even result in brain damage or failure.
How Can You Protect Yourself From Pharmacy Negligence?
Though you can seek out financial compensation after the fact, nothing will make up for not being able to live the fullest life due to a pharmacist error. This failure in duty of care from a pharmacist causing a medication error will require a medical negligence lawyer.
For now though, to protect against dispensing errors or other pharmacy errors, you should always:
- check the medication you are given;
- ensure that the prescription your doctor writes for you is either digital or written clearly;
- be aware of what symptoms to expect, and;
- if you ever doubt anything during the process remember to ask.
Even if the prescription was given out correctly, you can still face adverse side effects and will need to go to a medical professional immediately.
What Can You Do If You Have Been the Victim of Pharmacy Negligence?
If you were already a victim of pharmacy negligence, or know someone else who was, then there are a few things that you can do. Claiming compensation through a medical negligence claim is just one of them, too. But if the case uncovers gross negligence or criminal negligence, then the pharmacist in question could lose their license and even go to jail.
How much compensation you receive will depend on the severity of the issue and how much it has cost you. You are absolutely eligible for compensation to cover your pain and suffering, but you will also want to be covered for, say, the private care you needed to use to recover.
For the short term or the long term, we can seek general or special damages in the clinical negligence claims process. Start today with free legal advice from a friendly solicitor we work with here at TMNE. We collaborate with law firms that provide you with specialist solicitors with up to 30 years of experience in pharmacy negligence claims. They win high amounts of compensation for medical negligence and personal injury claims alike.
Claiming this compensation is far easier and more effective with a medical negligence solicitors on your side. Therefore, fill in the contact form today and we’ll help you determine if you have a valid case for compensation. We also handle other medical negligence cases here at The Medical Negligence Experts.