Drug effects claims
Advice
The Medicines Act 1968 regulates the use of prescription drugs. Many patients take medication prescribed to them by healthcare professionals and suffer no adverse effects, however, some individuals do experience undesirable and severe side effects.
Prescribed medication
If you are taking drugs prescribed to you then it is your responsibility to read the enclosed leaflet which details what the drug does and possible side effects, these should be read carefully, especially if you intend to drive or operate machinery after taking them.
Establishing a claim
Healthcare professionals must exercise diligence and consider any underlying health conditions or allergies that may affect the patient when prescribing medication, if they prescribe a medicine that is not suitable, or even potentially dangerous then they have failed in their duty of care towards you which can amount to medical negligence. Patients should have confidence that their healthcare professional has provided them with appropriate, and safe medication. Unfortunately, sometimes errors are made which leave patients suffering serious and adverse effects, meaning they may be entitled to compensation.
Errors that give rise to a claim
The most common errors that give rise to a claim include:
- Incorrect dosage of medicine;
- Medicine prescribed for an over-extended period;
- Two or more medicines prescribed that should not be used in conjunction with one another; or
- Prescription of medicine for which patient has a known allergy.
To successfully claim compensation in such cases, the adverse reaction must have been foreseeable by the medical professional and their administration perceived as potentially reckless. Claims can be hindered by ‘contributory negligence’ on the part of the patient if they act with a lack of concern which contributes to their harm or injury.
This includes: -
- Failure to take the prescribed medications correctly;
- Failure to seek medical assistance when the adverse effect was noticed; and
- Continuing to take the medication and worsening your condition.
How we can help
Our legal team would appoint a medical consultant to aim with the claim, please note we make no commission from these referrals but do need clients to open a case so that we can appoint them to assist. These consultants are privately contracted by us (and therefore their cost would be classed as a disbursement). The ultimate aim would be to get the trust to admit liability and confirm that your current condition has been left damaged in some way, admit the error and agree to a series of interim payments followed by a final settlement. The medical consultants will assess the entire situation. To address the claim element for mental trauma then we would suggest an additional report from our psychological team.
The claim will consider two types of damages:
- General damages- this compensates the victim for the pain and suffering endured, and for the loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the negligent act.
- Special damages- this compensates the victim for any personal costs incurred as a result of the negligent act. It can also cover any additional costs required in the future. This includes:
- Costs of medication and treatment;
- Loss of income and earnings; and the
- Cost of additional medical apparatus.
To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link. Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and medical consultant and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.