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By Jo Anderson. Last updated 31st January 2024. If your doctor prescribes the wrong medication dosage, it could lead to you suffering harm. In some cases, it could be possible to get compensation. In this guide, we look at prescription error claims, specifically focusing on wrong dosage issues.
Below, we discuss the criteria for making a medical negligence claim and how our No Win No Fee solicitors can help you recover compensation.
If you’d rather speak to us now about a claim, you can reach out to us now in any of the following ways:
What to do if your doctor prescribed the wrong dosage of medication
You may be wondering what eligibility requirements need to be met to seek medical negligence compensation. You must supply evidence that proves that:
When you are under the care of a medical professional, including your doctor or pharmacist, they must provide you with a minimum standard of care. This is their duty of care. If you suffer unnecessary harm because your doctor prescribed the wrong dosage of a medication, you might be eligible to claim.
However, you cannot make a claim for all harm that occurs in a medical setting. For example, you may suffer an allergic reaction to a medication you have not taken before. You would not be able to claim because your doctor is not expected to know about the allergy prior to prescribing.
In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, you must start your medical negligence within the time limit set by the Limitation Act 1980. Typically, this is three years from the date you were harmed or the date you first connected the harm with negligence. However, there are some exceptions to this. Call our advisors to learn about these exceptions in medication error claims.
A medication error is described as a mistake that is made when it comes to providing medicinal advice, as well as prescribing, monitoring, administering, preparing, and dispensing medicine. A medication error should be recorded in these cases, regardless of whether or not there has been any harm to a patient. There are a number of different mistakes that can be made with regards to medication. These could include the following:
These are some of the different incidents that could result in someone being given the incorrect medication or the wrong dosage.
To have a valid claim for harm you’ve experienced from having been wrongly prescribed medication, you would need evidence. The evidence you submit as part of your claim would have to prove that you received a substandard level of care that resulted in you experiencing harm. This is known as medical negligence.
Various pieces of evidence could help with this.
As part of your claim, you may have to visit an independent medical professional who would perform an assessment on you. They could examine you and ask you some questions. From the information they obtain, they could write a medical report. This would give their professional opinion on your condition and potential prognosis.
To prove that the doctor prescribed you the wrong dosage, you could provide a copy of the prescription for the wrongly prescribed medication. It is likely in such cases that you would need to submit other documentary evidence, such as your medical notes and proof of any costs and losses sustained as a result of being wrongly prescribed medication.
If you are concerned about whether you can prove that a doctor prescribed you the wrong dosage of medication, please call us. We could help to ascertain what evidence you might need. Plus, we could provide you with free legal advice based on your specific circumstances.
One thing some claimants may wish to know is how much compensation they could receive if they make a claim for the harm they suffered because a doctor prescribed the wrong dosage of medication. You may have read about different settlements for the wrong prescription in the UK. However, it could be vital to recognise that all cases are different. There are a lot of different factors that come into play when calculating compensation.
These could include the symptoms you have experienced, the severity of the original injury, how long the injury will impact you, and your recovery path. This is why it would not be possible to give you an accurate figure of the compensation you would get without you having seen an independent medical expert and having your claim valued based on the results of their assessment of your condition.
However, we could help to give you a better understanding of the levels of compensation that could be achievable for your case. Below, we have put together figures from the Judicial College Guidelines for specific injuries that could relate to these types of claims rather than incorporating a personal injury claims calculator.
| Injury | Details about the injury | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple severe injuries with associated financial expenses and losses. | A combination of severe injuries causing significant pain and suffering along with financial costs, such as care costs and medical expenses. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Very severe brain damage (a) | There will be little response to environmental stimuli, but in some cases the ability to follow basic commands. | £282,010 to £403,990 |
| Kidney | Both kidneys have been seriously damaged or lost. | £169,400 to £210,400 |
| Kidney | One kidney has been lost with the other suffering no damage. | £30,770 to £44,880 |
| Bowels | A total loss of the bowels natural function. Depending on the person’s age, they may also depend on a colostomy. | Up to £150,110 |
| Lung Disease | A disease such as emphysema that causes breathing problems and worsens the lungs function with frequent coughing. | £54,830 to £70,030 |
| Impairment of Taste and Smell | A complete loss of smell and taste. | In the region of £39,170 |
| Bladder | Despite an almost complete recovery, the person will suffer with some long-term interference with the bladder’s natural function. | £23,410 to £31,310 |
The figures in the table above are only applicable to how much you could claim in general damages for a wrong dosage of medication claim. However, your compensation settlement may also include special damages.
Special damages aim to compensate you for the financial losses you have suffered due to being harmed by medical negligence. Some of the losses you could claim under special damages include:
You will need to provide evidence of these financial losses to successfully claim them back. Bank statements, receipts and payslips could all be sued as evidence in your claim.
Contact our advisors today to see whether you could make a claim if the wrong medication has been given to you as a patient. If our advisors believe that you may be eligible for compensation, they could connect you with one of our experienced solicitors who could help you with your claim.
If you are eligible to claim compensation for the unnecessary harm you suffered due to being prescribed the wrong medication dosage, you may wish to get professional help with your claim.
A solicitor could assist with various aspects of a medical negligence claim, such as gathering evidence and negotiating for compensation.
You may be interested to know that one of our solicitors could offer to work on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement. Typically, under a CFA, you would not pay the solicitor for their work on your claim either upfront or while it is ongoing.
At the end of your claim, if it is successful, your solicitor will deduct a legally capped percentage of your compensation as a success fee.
Should your claim fail, you would not typically be expected to pay the solicitor for their work on your case.
To learn more about No Win No Fee agreements, or to get help starting your claim, please contact an advisor.
Below, you can learn more about claiming medical negligence compensation:
Thank you for reading our guide on what to do if you’ve had the wrong medication dosage prescribed. If a doctor has prescribed the wrong dosage of medication to you, we could help you claim compensation for the harm you’ve suffered from wrong dose medication errors.
