How Much Pharmacy Error Compensation Can I Claim?

Pharmacies exist as an essential cornerstone of the healthcare system, offering immediate access to expert care and medications. However, if you’ve suffered harm due to a pharmacy error, this can result in physical injury, mental distress and a loss of trust in the healthcare system. Pharmacy errors can be wide-ranging, encompassing wrong prescriptions, incorrect dosages and even patient mix-ups. Therefore, if you’ve experienced something similar, you could be entitled to pharmacy error compensation. As such, compensation will be calculated uniquely, considering the severity of your harm, your recovery period and the overall impact on your quality of life.  Fortunately, our team is here to help guide you through the claims process, offering you a personal compensation evaluation.

At UK Law, our team is here to help you through this challenging time. As part of the free services that we offer, you could enjoy an initial consultation to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Following this, you could be connected with one of the expert solicitors from our panel to start your pharmacy error claim. Working on a No Win No Fee basis, our panel of specialist solicitors have years of combined experience in securing successful pay-outs for medical negligence.

To learn about pharmacy error claims, get in touch with our friendly advisors at UK Law:

• Call us on 020 3870 4868
• Contact us by filling out our online form
• Use our free live chat feature

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Much Pharmacy Error Compensation Can I Claim?
2. Can Financial Losses Caused By A Pharmacy Error Be Compensated?
3. Am I Eligible To Claim Pharmacy Error Compensation?
4. What Could Cause An Error In A Pharmacy To Occur?
5. How Should Pharmacy Errors Be Prevented?
6. Proving Medical Negligence Caused The Pharmacy Error
7. How Long Will I Have To Claim Pharmacy Error Compensation?
8. What Can UK Law Do To Help My Error In A Pharmacy Claim?
9. Pharmacy Error Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis
10. More Information

How Much Pharmacy Error Compensation Can I Claim?

The amount of pharmacy error compensation you could claim will depend on the harm you suffered, how long you suffered for, and the consequential effects it had on your life. If your case is successful, you could receive general damages as part of your pharmacy error compensation. In all, general damages will award you for any physical and mental pain and suffering you may have experienced.

To calculate general damages, a solicitor will typically refer to medical evidence and a copy of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication is commonly used among legal professionals; it contains compensation guidelines for many different types of harm.

All entries in the table below, apart from the first figure, have been taken from the JCG. Please note that the entries are merely guidelines, and do not provide a guarantee of how much you could receive.

Harm	Severity	Compensation Pay-out
Multiple severe forms of harm with financial losses	Very serious. With special damages such as lost earnings, travel expenses, and medical costs	Up to £500,000+
Brain Damage	Very severe. Considering the degree of insight or physical limitations.	£344,150 to £493,000
Brain Damage	Moderately Severe. Considering life expectancy and the risk of epilepsy.	£267,340 to £344,150
Female Reproductive Injuries	(a) Infertility with sexual dysfunction and severe depression.	£140,210 to £207,260
Bowel Injuries	(c) Including faecal urgency and passive incontinence	In the region of £97,530
Kidney Injuries	(b) A total loss of natural function of the kidneys	Up to £78,080
Non-Traumatic Injuries To The Digestive System	(i) Severe toxicosis causing pain, vomiting and diarrhoea	£46,900 to £64,070
Male Reproductive Injuries	(e) with a significant psychological reaction of a person who may have intended to have more children	£21,920 to £44,840
Chest injuries	(d) Some permanent damage to tissue with no significant damage	£15,370 to £21,920

To receive a personal compensation assessment, feel free to get in touch with our advisors today.

Can Financial Losses Caused By A Pharmacy Error Be Compensated?

Yes, financial losses caused by a pharmacy error can be compensated through the award of special damages. In essence, special damages will reimburse you for any monetary losses you may have suffered due to your harm.

For instance, special damages can include the following:

• Loss of earnings, such as a loss in current or future income, loss of a bonus, overtime pay or workplace benefits.
• Medical expenses, including private medical appointments and prescription expenses.
• Care expenses, such as the cost of professional help with cooking, cleaning, nursing and dressing.
• Travel costs, including fuel or public transport expenses from travelling to and from medical appointments.

Essentially, you must be able to support your special damages with evidence, such as:

• Receipts
• Invoices
• Bank statements
• Payslips

To discover more about special damages, please contact one of our advisors today.

Am I Eligible To Claim Pharmacy Error Compensation?

Yes, you could be eligible to claim pharmacy error compensation if you can demonstrate that you suffered harm due to substandard medical treatment. As such, you must be able to meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. You Were Owed a Duty of Care By A Healthcare Professional

All healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists owe you a legal duty of care when providing treatment. This means they must work at the minimum expected standard of care.

2. That Duty of Care Was Breached

This breach may occur if a healthcare professional makes a mistake that falls below the expected standard of care. For instance, a healthcare professional may have made a medication error by prescribing the wrong drug, given you the wrong dosage, or failed to assess your medical history for possible allergies.

3. You Suffered Avoidable Harm Due To The Breach

You must be able to demonstrate that the error led to avoidable harm or an illness, rather than being a known or an unavoidable side effect. Avoidable harm could include severe side effects, physical pain, the worsening of a pre-existing condition or hospitalisation.

To learn more about your eligibility, please contact our advisors for a free assessment today.

What Could Cause An Error In A Pharmacy To Occur?

Pharmacy errors could occur due to many different issues, such as high workloads, distractions, staff shortages and a lack of training. Please see the following examples of negligence and how pharmacy error compensation claims could arise as a result:

• A pharmacist could dispense the wrong medication due to a packaging similarity. As such, the medicine could react with other medicines that a patient is already taking, resulting in respiratory distress and vomiting.
• A pharmacist could dispense the incorrect dosage of a drug, causing a patient to overdose. This could cause severe toxicity in the body, resulting in organ damage, seizures and a loss of consciousness.
• An assistant at a pharmacy could accidentally mix-up two patients’ prescriptions, causing them to receive the wrong medications. Both patients could suffer serious physical harm and neurological damage. Moreover, one patient could suffer an allergic reaction, resulting in serious organ damage and PTSD.
• A pharmacist could make a labelling error, causing two medications to be mixed up. A patient could therefore receive the wrong medication, resulting in cardiac distress and even heart attacks due to delayed treatment.

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive, and pharmacy errors can occur in many different ways.

To discuss your personal experience with one of our advisors, please contact us today.

How Should Pharmacy Errors Be Prevented?

Pharmacy errors could be prevented by implementing technological and procedural changes to minimise the risk of mistakes. For instance, errors could be prevented in pharmacies by:

• Using technology to track medications. This can include electronic prescription services, barcode identification and adopting up-to-date systems to prevent errors.
• Providing high-quality staff training. Training may include addressing high workloads to prevent burnout and conducting regular training sessions on new protocols.
• Improving communication between doctors and pharmacists. This can include adopting measures such as issuing electronic or typed and printed prescriptions rather than handwritten to prevent mistakes, and accessing a patient’s full medical history before prescriptions are made.

To start your pharmacy error compensation claim today, please get in touch with one of our helpful advisors.

Proving Medical Negligence Caused The Pharmacy Error

To prove that medical negligence caused your pharmacy error, you must be able to provide evidence of the harm you suffered. In all, evidence can be accepted in the following forms:

• A copy of your medical records. This will provide an official document of the harm you experienced, its severity and any subsequent treatment you received.
• Contact details of potential witnesses who could provide a statement at a later date.
• Photographs of any visual signs of harm
• Correspondence between yourself and the pharmacy from where you received the negligent treatment.
• A daily symptoms diary, detailing the harm you suffered. This can be extremely useful in showing the physical and mental harm you experienced before and after the negligence occurred.
• Retaining the drug packaging or the label to show the prescription error you suffered.

If you’re connected with one of the dedicated solicitors from our panel, they could help to gather evidence on your behalf. To find out if you’re eligible to claim for pharmacy error compensation, please contact us today.

How Long Will I Have To Claim Pharmacy Error Compensation?

You will typically have 3 years to claim pharmacy error compensation. As per the Limitation Act 1980, the 3-year limit will begin from:

• The date you received negligent treatment, or;
• The date that you first connected the harm you suffered to negligent treatment (or would have been expected to).

To learn more, please see our dedicated guide about the time limit to make a medical negligence claim. For further help and assistance, please get in touch with one of our friendly advisors today.

What Can UK Law Do To Help My Error In A Pharmacy Claim?

UK Law can help your error in a pharmacy claim by connecting you with an expert solicitor, helping you to gather evidence and to identify the full value of your case. Moreover, our panel of specialist solicitors can provide the additional benefits:

• Regular case updates so you always know where your pharmacy error compensation claim stands
• Help with evidence-gathering, such as medical reports
• Explanations of legal jargon to help you understand the medical negligence claims process
• Advice about pharmacy error claims that strictly adheres to the rules of confidentiality
• Arrangement of therapies to aid ongoing psychological harm, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy

To learn more about our panel of talented solicitors, feel free to contact us today.

Pharmacy Error Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis

Following an eligibility assessment, you could be connected with one of the talented No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel to start your claim. Using a  Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), the following benefits could apply to you:

• No solicitor service fees at the start of your case, as it progresses or in the event that your claim is unsuccessful.
• If your claim has a favourable outcome, a small success fee will be paid to your solicitor. Please note that the fee percentage will be taken from your compensation, and is capped by the law.

To discover more about the benefits of CFAs, please get in touch with our team today.

Contact Our Advisors

To learn more about pharmacy error compensation, feel free to contact our advisors:

• Call us on 020 3870 4868
• Contact us by filling out our online form
• Use our free live chat feature

More Information

For more information on medical negligence claims, please see some of our other guides:

• See the following examples of medical negligence payouts in the UK
• Get help with medical misdiagnosis claims
• Learn if you could claim after being wrongly prescribed antidepressants

Additional external resources:

• See the report on learning from medication errors by the NHS Resolution
• Learn about statutory leave and time off from Gov.UK
• Get help from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) to learn about the work they do

Thank you for reading our useful guide on how to claim for pharmacy error compensation.