Prescription and medication mistakes

Serious injury or illness can occur if you or a family member has been prescribed the wrong medication or been given the wrong dosage. Prescription and medication errors can happen at any time during your treatment journey. For example, when the doctor issues your prescription, when the drug is being prepared in the pharmacy, or when you are given the drug by a nurse.

We have a wealth of experience and expertise in this area of clinical negligence law. Our specialist solicitors can take you step-by-step through the legal process to claim compensation and we will ensure you get the best possible outcome with the support you need to move on.

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Accredited quality and experience in medical negligence claims

You can rest assured that our expert specialist clinical negligence solicitors have the expertise and legal knowledge to support your claim for compensation and rehabilitation.

The Head of our Healthcare & Clinical Risk, and Partner, Andrew Taylor is an accredited member of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Quality Scheme. The Scheme is a recognised standard for quality in Clinical Negligence.

Solicitor, Partner and Clinical Negligence specialist, Susan Liver is an accredited Person Injury Specialist Litigator with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). APIL accreditation provides a quality mark of competence and specialist expertise for solicitors and counsel dealing with personal injury claims.

How can we help you make a compensation claim for prescription and medication mistakes?

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Our medical negligence solicitors will be happy to listen to what has happened to you and provide advise about your legal options. If we can help then it is our job is to support and help you through the legal process of making a compensation claim for prescription and medication errors. In many cases compensation can be the only meaningful source of finance to help you cover the cost of lost earnings and give you access to quality rehabilitation.

We will shoulder the legal burden, support you through the compensation process, and make sure you know what’s going on at every step of the way. We will do all of this in a professional and approachable way with no legal jargon.

What do I do if a suspect a medication error and other questions?

What kind of prescription and medication errors can occur?
There are many types of medication errors. Every patient is different, and each medication mistake will have its own set of circumstances, but there are a number of common errors that can occur during the prescribing and administering of a drug. These can include:
- Prescribing the wrong drug
- Prescribing the wrong dosage of the medication
- Continuing to prescribe a drug without regular check-ups and monitoring
- Giving out the wrong type of drug
- Mislabelling the type of medication
- Mislabelling the instructions detailing dosage
- Dispensing the wrong dosage of the prescribed medication
- Dispensing the wrong patient’s prescription
- Failure to give anti-clotting medication following surgery
- Failure to give anti-epileptic medication
- Failure to carry out regular check ups regarding patient’s medication
- Prescribing a drug that you or a family member are allergic to
- Prescribing a drug that should not be taken with other medication, which you or a family member are already taking
Whilst most prescription errors do not have serious consequences for the patient, the wrong medication or the wrong dosage can cause a condition to get worse and, in some cases, cause a new injury or illness. The impact can be physical as well as psychological, and even result in death.
What do I do if a suspect a medication error has occurred?

It is important that you quickly speak to a specialist solicitor with experience of dealing with prescription and medication compensation claims. Birchall Blackburn Law has a dedicated team who support families left to deal with life-changing injuries or illness as a consequence of a medication error.

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- Did you know?

It is estimated that more than 237 million medication errors are made every year in England, the avoidable consequences result in about 1,700 deaths annually (BMJ Quality & Safety, Online Journal).

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Let's start the conversation

Reach out now for free and confidential initial advice about Clinical / Medical Negligence and whether you have a case for compensation to help and support you. Simply call, email or request a call back and one of our experienced Clinical Negligence team members will be in touch.

0800 230 0573

clinicalnegligence@birchallblackburn.co.uk

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