Medication Errors

According to a study undertaken by academics at the University of Manchester in 2018, more than 200 million medication errors occur in the NHS per year. If you have suffered harm as a result of a medication error, you may have a claim for clinical negligence and could receive compensation.

You could have a claim if your healthcare professional has made an error when dispensing the medication you need, such as a pharmacist. This can occur in situations where the wrong medication has been given to you or you are given an incorrect dosage. It can also occur when a medical professional forgets your prescription and fails to give you the medication you should have been taking. When a prescription is missed, or you are given the wrong dosage, it can cause you harm as it means your condition is left untreated.

Other medication errors that you can claim for include – 

• Incorrect labelling of the medication;
• Prescribing medication to a patient and they are aware, or should be aware, that you have a known allergy to any of the ingredients;
• Doctors failing to review your medication, for example if you have been receiving repeat prescriptions for a while. Medication reviews should be held annually by your doctor at your general practice. If these reviews do not take place you could be taking medication that is no longer helpful in dealing with the reasons why you need to take it as well as preventing you from taking medication which could help you.