Following on from our article about the inevitability of a medication dispensing error within community or hospital pharmacies, we share two case studies of matters we’ve settled.
Case Study – One
The Claimant, a was a woman who had for a number of years received a repeat prescription of a specific hormone patch since undergoing a hysterectomy to combat endometriosis symptoms. The prescription for the correct patch was provided by the GP directly to the pharmacy and the Claimant collected the medication accordingly.
The Claimant applied the patch in the normal manner but within hours began to suffer notable symptoms including an adverse reaction to the patch. It was later discovered that the patches dispensed to the Claimant by the pharmacy were not those prescribed and contained hormones of a different type and level of those in the prescribed patches.
In this case, we successfully claimed and obtained the damages for the adverse effects of administering the incorrectly dispensed medication to the value of £950.
Case Study – Two
The Claimant was lactose intolerant to the extent an EpiPen was used by her as a child.
The Claimant began to swell, and she had back and abdominal pain and attended the GP and was prescribed phenoxymethylpenicillin (formerly known as penicillin). The Claimant was asked whether she was allergic to anything by the pharmacist on collection. The Claimant advised that she was allergic to lactose. The Pharmacist raised no issues and instructed her to commence using the medication immediately.
The phenoxymethylpenicillin at first appeared to aid the Claimant’s symptoms. The swelling in the Claimant’s legs went down and her back and abominable pain reduced. However, the Claimant began to suffer symptoms including light-headedness and difficulty swallowing and went on to develop hives.
The Claimant’s symptoms resulted in her being admitted to the hospital via an ambulance when it was identified that the phenoxymethylpenicillin dispensed contained lactose.
The allegations, in this case, were that as a result of the failure by the Pharmacy to act on the knowledge of the pre-existing allergy and failing to advise the Claimant accordingly she suffered avoidable pain and suffering; a hospital attendance notable loss of earnings amongst other costs.
We successfully settled this claim with the pharmacy in question for a damages settlement figure of £3,150.
Contact Us
If you, or a loved one, have been let down by the incorrect dispensing of prescription medication by a pharmacy, and suffered a side effect or injury as a result – please do not hesitate to contact Oakwood Solicitors on 0113 200 9720. We can provide free, initial confidential advice to see if you can make a claim for Medical Negligence.
Jade Glover is a Solicitor in the Medical Negligence team. She has worked for the company for over 9 years and completed her training during that time. She has specialised in Personal Injury clai…
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