Pharmacy Negligence

Pharmacy negligence is when a pharmacy gives you medicine from the incorrect reading of a prescription, the wrong medication, or someone else’s.

Negligence can happen due to inexperienced or poorly trained staff in the pharmacy.

Staff shortages in the pharmacy are not your problem, but they will affect you if, as a result, pharmacy negligence happens. Even trained staff, under pressure from being too busy, make mistakes, but it is the pharmacy’s responsibility to ensure oversight does not happen.

In almost all pharmacy clinical negligence claims, the label on the box will have been correct. It will have your name, and of the medication you are supposed to have received. Sadly, it will be a prescription error and the medication is incorrect. People rarely notice the wrong medicine as generic medication suppliers have different boxes, tablet colours and sizes.

It is the pharmacist’s job not to make the mistake. You trust your pharmacy to get the medicines right, not to make you ill from the pharmacy’s negligence.

You can claim for pharmacy negligence by contacting a negligence solicitor. The process is generally quick and easy. Pharmaceutical negligence cases tend to be settled a lot quicker than NHS negligence claims.

You will need a No Win No Fee negligence solicitor and one who pays you 100% of the compensation you receive. If you win your pharmaceutical negligence case, your solicitor will be paid by the negligent pharmacy’s insurers.

You may find that some solicitors will try and take a cut of your compensation, often up to 25% of the final figure. There is no need to agree to this deduction as there are negligence solicitors who will pay you 100% of the compensation recovered.

All case reviews are 100% cost and commitment free.

The types of pharmacy negligence include: 

Each type of pharmacy negligence is avoidable. 

You may quickly notice if you have suffered from pharmacy negligence. Symptoms such as nausea, weakness, and generally feeling bad may not take long to surface. 

Other symptoms may take longer to appear or can be so severe that you need hospitalisation. Regardless of what happens, you can be due compensation for the results of pharmacy negligence.

A brief look at the types of pharmacy negligence and their effects will help you recognise if something similar has happened to you.

Being given the wrong medication can happen in several ways. The pharmacist may misread the prescription, take another medication from the storage box or give you a generic one when you should have a branded medicine.

Pharmacy negligence has multiple impacts when you are given the medication not on your prescription.

One common pharmacy negligence error is when someone is on antidepressant medication such as paroxetine or quetiapine but is given a completely different medication by mistake.

Suddenly your body experiences withdrawal effects from not getting the correct medicine. Previously controlled symptoms return with a bang, and the results can be frightening.

The incorrect medication can only make your condition worse.

Being given the right medication but the incorrect dose is very dangerous and could be fatal. They have your prescription from a doctor

If your pharmacy gives you a box of 500MG tablets when it should be 250MG, you are getting double the dose your doctor wants you to take. With an epilepsy drug such as Tegretol, a too high dose can damage your liver over time.

On the other hand, when the doctor prescribes 500Mg of Tegretol but the pharmacy gives you 250MG tablets, it can have a devastating effect. Your epilepsy does not improve, and your doctor stops a medicine which could work at the correct dose.

Avoidable mistakes with a dose may have serious long-term consequences.

Being given someone else’s medication instead of your own is another mix-up which should never happen at the pharmacy.

The pharmacist puts the medicine prescribed for another person in the queue into your bag. Your name is on the bag, and you take it home. If you take the medication, you could be in serious trouble. Allergic reactions, nausea and even seizures are common side effects of taking someone else’s prescription.

Taking someone else’s medication will make you ill and can keep you off work.

Incorrect storage of medication is when the pharmacy does not store medicines safely. Whatever the cause, incorrect storage of medication can have serious side effects on you, the customer.

Types of incorrect storage of medication include:

If a medicine is not stored correctly, it will not work as prescribed. Breaking the cold chain, not keeping the medicine in the fridge, kills any active ingredients. 

When stock management is poor in the pharmacy, they can mix up expiry dates or give you the wrong strength of a medicine. Giving a patient a 500Mg pill instead of a 1000Mg one can make someone very ill. 

When the pharmacist does not store medicine in its original packaging, it can be difficult to tell it from others or know the correct dose instructions.

The pharmacy must store all medication correctly. Incorrect storage of medication can lead to errors that make you very ill.

Pharmacy negligence has multiple impacts on you and your family.

You do not get the medication you should have, which can make you ill. The difficult to deal with symptoms can appear again and set back your recovery. 

In many cases, the body may have become used to a medicine, and it can be very dangerous to stop any medication abruptly. You could also be taking medication you should not be and experiencing the side effects.

The steps to taking a pharmacy negligence case are easy to follow. As pharmacy negligence cases are usually quite obvious, when you follow the steps below, the pharmacy should settle your case quickly.

If you have been a victim of any form of medical negligence? We specialise in pursuing damages against negligent healthcare providers.

It’s free and easy to speak with one of our team of negligence professionals.

You will receive compensation from the low £1000s to more than £1m for a medical negligence claim. The amount you receive depends on the severity of the negligence and the long-term effects on you or a loved one.

The most compensation paid in the UK was £24m to a woman permanently disabled due to negligence during surgery. Other amounts are less dramatic, but the average pharmacy negligence claim pays £1,000 to £2,500.

Finding an expert medical negligence solicitor will make the process a lot easier to handle. Ensure you have a pharmacy negligence solicitor who operates nationally

The Medical Negligence Team undertakes pharmacy negligence claims across England and Wales. We fight all cases on a No Win No Fee policy, and all our clients’ wins are on a 100% Compensation Guarantee basis.