Tesco Pharmacy Wrong Medication Claims Guide – Can I Claim Compensation Against Tesco For Prescription Error?

If a Tesco Pharmacy gave you the wrong medication, you could be able to make a compensation claim for any harm you suffered. This guide aims to show why these claims come about, and how you could be in a position to make your own claim for clinical negligence. The process of making a clinical negligence claim is similar to that of making a personal injury claim, with a few differences, which we’ll explain below.

Every claim has its own unique set of circumstances, meaning we can’t cover every eventuality in this guide. If you have any queries, all you have to do is give our team a call on 0161 696 9685. One of our advisors will give you the answers you need, and also help you to get your claim underway.

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A Guide On Wrong Medication Errors By Tesco Pharmacy
What Are Pharmacy Prescription Errors?
What Is The Role Of A Pharmacy?
What Causes Of Pharmacy Prescription Errors Could I Claim For?
What May Be The Effects Of The Wrong Medication?
Raising Concerns If Your Tesco Pharmacy Gave The Wrong Medication
Could I Claim Against A Pharmacy – Check Your Eligibility
Pharmacy Wrong Medication Compensation Calculator
Special Damages Awarded In Pharmacy Negligence Claims
Steps You Could Take If Tesco Pharmacy Gave The Wrong Medication
Why Choose Our Team To Handle Your Claim?
No Win No Fee Wrong Medication Claims Against Pharmacies
Begin Your Claim Against A Pharmacy
Useful Resources if a Tesco Pharmacy Gave The Wrong Medication

A Guide On Wrong Medication Errors By Tesco Pharmacy

Within this guide to making a claim following a Tesco prescription error, we aim to answer the question, what do you do if I am the victim of a medication error? We look at the kinds of mistakes that could result in you receiving the wrong medication, the wrong dose of medication, or the wrong instructions on how to take your medication. We try to show that in certain circumstances, you could be able to make a compensation claim for any harm these types of mistakes cause.

We begin this guide with an introduction to what pharmaceutical errors are, and the criteria you will need to meet for you to be potentially eligible to make a claim for one. We follow this up with information on the role of a pharmacy within the primary healthcare system. You will find a discussion of the causes of pharmaceutical errors, and the kinds of effects that these can have on your health. We finish up this part of the guide with information on how to complain about a pharmacy, and also whether you could be eligible to make a claim for pharmaceutical errors.

The last sections of this guide each relate to a financial aspect of the claims process. You will see that we have added a table that you can use to look up the range of compensation you could be able to claim for. Right after this, we have added a list of some of the types of damages you might receive if your claim is a success. Lastly, we go over No Win, No Fee claims—what they are, and the benefits of using a lawyer working under such a fee structure.

You might have questions about your claim, the claims process in general, or even the contents of this guide. No matter what questions you have, one of our claim advisors can answer them for you, and also advise you on the best way to move your claim forward. You can contact our team on the phone number near the top of this page.

What Are Pharmacy Prescription Errors?

A pharmaceutical prescription error is a mistake made in a pharmacy that results in the patient being given the wrong medication or dose of medication, or the wrong instructions on how to take their medication. We are only covering mistakes made by a pharmacy here, not by the prescribing GP or the manufacturers of the medication.

Every pharmacist has a duty of care to never do anything that would cause unnecessary harm to a patient. This duty of care incorporates the pharmacy staff that the pharmacist is supervising. A breach in this duty of care that leads to a patient being harmed could be seen as clinical negligence. For the victim of clinical negligence to make a claim, three things have to be true, and these are:

The pharmacist or pharmacy owed you a duty of care, which in most cases will be straightforward to prove.
The pharmacist or pharmacy breached their duties in providing you with the wrong prescription, for instance.
As a result of the breach, you suffered an injury or illness.

Whenever we state in this guide that you could be in a position to make a claim, it is with the assumption that all of these three things are true.

You can speak to our team to have your claim evaluated. In the same way that a personal injury lawyer can help with personal injury claims, we can help you to find a clinical negligence solicitor to process your claim.

What Is The Role Of A Pharmacy?

Your local pharmacy is one part of the primary healthcare services that cover your area. Your GP is also considered to come under primary healthcare. The diagnosis, prescription and treatment process is an important part of the healthcare system in the UK. A pharmacy has its own place in this process, providing services such as:

Safely maintaining stocks of common medication.
Making up a prescription for medication that has been prescribed by a GP or specialist.
Dispensing medication as per the instructions on the prescription.
Providing help and advice on how to take medication that has been prescribed.
Communicating with your GP to ensure you are taking the right medication.

The primary staff are supervised by one or more pharmacists, to ensure that no mistakes are made, such as a patient being given the wrong medication. When a member of the pharmacy staff or the pharmacists themselves make a pharmaceutical error, and this affects your health, you could be able to claim. If you speak to our claims team they can tell you more about how to do this.

What Causes Of Pharmacy Prescription Errors Could I Claim For?

There are many ways that a prescription error can happen, in a way that could leave the victim in a position to make a compensation claim for medical negligence. Some common mistakes could include:

A picking error made by one of the pharmacy staff results in a patient being given the wrong medication entirely.
Medication that has been stocked on a shelf in the wrong place could cause a patient to be given the wrong dose of medication.
Due to insufficient information being printed on the packaging of the medication or the included instruction sheet, the patient gets the wrong information about how to take their medication.
A pharmacist fails to notice that a patient has been prescribed two types of medication that will react with each other negatively, and goes ahead and dispenses them both.

These are all examples of how a mistake made at a pharmacy could lead to a patient’s health suffering due to a pharmaceutical error. In each case, if it can be proven that the pharmacist or one of the pharmacy staff was at fault, a claim could be possible.

What May Be The Effects Of The Wrong Medication?

If a pharmacist at Tesco makes a dispensing error, such as giving you the wrong dose of the right medication, there are several ways in which your health might suffer, such as:

The original illness that you required the medication for will not be treated properly, it could become worse or other complications could set in.
You may suffer an allergic or a non-allergic reaction to the medication.
In extreme cases, you could suffer anaphylaxis, which is a serious, possibly life-threatening medical condition.
Some medicines can cause an overdose if you take the wrong dose, or take them too frequently.

These are just a few potential health implications for victims of a pharmaceutical error. In each case, if the victim can prove that this harm was caused by medical negligence, a claim could be possible. Speak to our team to learn more.

Raising Concerns If Your Tesco Pharmacy Gave The Wrong Medication

If you suspect that your Tesco pharmacist has made a mistake with your prescription, and this caused your health to suffer, then as a precursor for making a compensation claim, you need to report the problem to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

The GPhC operates a well-defined, simple to access complaints procedure. You can report the problem online, by email, or in person. You have 12 months from the date that medical negligence took place to make your complaint.

The GPhC will evaluate your complaint and decide whether they agree that clinical negligence took place. If they don’t agree, then you are going to need to prove that it did. We can offer you some advice on how to do this if you speak to one of our advisors.

Could I Claim Against A Pharmacy – Check Your Eligibility

If your pharmacist made a mistake, and you were given the wrong instructions on how to take your medicine, the wrong dose, or the wrong information entirely, then you could have been the victim of pharmaceutical negligence. However, simply being the victim of medical negligence isn’t due cause to claim on its own.You need to fulfil the criteria of eligibility that we covered in one of the first sections of this guide.

Of course, not every claimant is in the perfect situation of having an irrefutable claim. Often, there is a need for legal help in preparing your claim, such as gathering and correlating evidence to prove your eligibility, and to prove that the defendant is liable.

We can provide you with all the help you need to prepare for making your claim, and to get the legal support you need to give you the best chance of your claim being a success. All you need to do to get started is to have a chat with a member of our claims team. One of our expert advisors can evaluate your claim for you, and tell you how we can best be of help to you.

Pharmacy Wrong Medication Compensation Calculator

If you have ever had dealings with a solicitor helping you to make an injury or accident claim in the past, you may have used a personal injury claims calculator to get a rough idea of how much compensation you might be able to claim. For a medical negligence claim, you can use this table below in a similar fashion. We have based this table on the figures contained in the Judicial College Guidelines, a legal publication used by solicitors and the courts to value claims. You can look up the severity of your illness and find out the range of compensation that you could be able to claim.

Medical Condition	Severity	Payment	Info
Illness	Minor	£860 to £3,710	A minor illness that would manifest symptoms such as severe, disabling pain, nausea, diarrhoea and stomach/muscle cramps. The illness would last from a few days to several weeks.
Illness	Moderate	£3,710 to £8,950	A moderate illness that could manifest symptoms such as diarrhoea, impaired bowel function, fatigue, stomach cramps, etc. The victim may need to spend some time in the hospital, with the main symptoms clearing up within a few weeks and full recovery within two years.
Illness	Serious	£8,950 to £18,020	A serious illness that could only last for a short time. It would have severe symptoms such as diarrhoea, sickness, vomiting, fatigue, fever, etc. and these symptoms would become less over a period of two weeks. However, there would be lingering symptoms that could have an effect on the victim’s life, such as impaired bowel function, loss of enjoyment of food, etc. These symptoms would last into the long-term or even indefinitely.
Illness	Severe	£36,060 to £49,270	Severe illness with symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever. Muscle/stomach cramps, etc. These symptoms would last for some time, into the long-term.

If you want a more accurate, detailed evaluation of the amount of damages you could be able to claim based on your own circumstances, then please speak to our team. One of them will be able to arrange for a medical negligence lawyer to evaluate your claim for you.

Special Damages Awarded In Pharmacy Negligence Claims

If you become the victim of medication errors in a pharmacy, and you subsequently make a successful clinical negligence claim, the settlement you win could be made up of two heads of claim: special damages or general damages.

General damages are intended to compensate you for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity inflicted by the injuries. The level of damages awarded is decided by evaluating the severity of the injuries, whether the victim endured invasive or traumatic treatment, or whether they could have long-term or permanent symptoms. General damages might include:

General pain and suffering caused by the symptoms of the illness, or due to side effects of treatment.
Psychological damage, including the shock and trauma of suffering a serious illness or spending time in the hospital.
Loss of life quality, if the claimant will suffer long-term or permanent health problems that will stop them living life to the same capacity as before.
Permanent disability, if the claimant will never completely recover, and will be left with an impairment such as loss of mobility or brain damage.

Special damages are designed to compensate you for any financial losses and expenses incurred, or perhaps will be incurred in the future, as a direct result of the injury… If the claimant intends to claim for expenses that have already been incurred, they will need to submit documented proof of these costs. Examples of the expenses that can be recovered include:

Out of pocket expenses, such as travel tickets.
Care costs, if the claimant had to pay for a nurse to provide them with care at home.
Private medical fees, if the claimant had to pay for private healthcare out of their own pocket because treatment wasn’t available from the NHS for free.
Loss of wages/salary, either in full or partially, because the claimant had to take time away from work.
Long term work prospects negatively impacted, if the claimant will need to change jobs, work less, or completely stop working.

If you would like to learn what kinds of damages you might be able to claim for based on your own circumstances, you can speak to one of our advisors, who will be able to tell you.

Steps You Could Take If Tesco Pharmacy Gave The Wrong Medication

If you believe that you have a valid basis for a medical negligence claim, just follow our simple three-step claims process to get the legal help you need today.

Call our team to have all of your questions answered, and learn how to get your claim started.
One of our advisors will evaluate your claim, and let you know whether it could be valid or not.
If your case has favourable prospects of success, we’ll refer you to a specialist medical negligence solicitor from our panel who will begin processing your claim for you.

Whenever you want an update on the status of our claim, you just need to give our team a call. They will explain what progress has been made on your case in simple English with no legal jargon.

Why Choose Our Team To Handle Your Claim?

Our panel of solicitors has over thirty years of experience handling medical negligence claims. They will strive to win you the maximum amount of compensation possible and will guide you through the complexities of the legal process with ease, explaining legal jargon along the way. And if ever you have a query or would like an update on your case, they’ll be on hand to take your call.

No Win, No Fee Wrong Medication Claims Against Pharmacies

By using a solicitor working under a No Win, No Fee agreement, you are receiving the legal expertise you need to pursue a claim while at the same time, minimising the financial risks of making a claim. Also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), a No Win, No Fee agreement ensures that you do not have to pay any fees upfront or during the claim, and if your case does not succeed, you will not have to pay any of the fees your solicitor has incurred in pursuing your case.

If the claim is a success, your solicitor may ask you to pay a small contribution toward their costs. This is known as a success fee and it would be deducted from the compensation awarded at the end of the claim. Don’t worry, success fees are legally capped and the percentage will be confirmed with you before the claim begins. Call our team for more information on making a No Win, No Fee claim.

Begin Your Claim Against A Pharmacy

Has your health been harmed due to taking the wrong medication? Do you think medical negligence was the root cause? If so, please contact our team on 0161 696 9685. An expert advisor will evaluate your claim for you, inform you of your options, and offer you some free legal advice on how best to proceed with a claim.