Compensation of £4,500 recovered for client whose prescription was dispensed with missing essential item by his pharmacist
19 July 2024
Kate Rushton, Solicitor in the Clinical Negligence Department at Curtis Law Solicitors has recently settled a case for Mr B who attended his regular pharmacy to collect his weekly prescription but was only provided with one out of three essential medicines.
The pharmacist failed to include Diazepam and Nitrazepam in the medications dispensed to Mr B despite them being prescribed. Mr B only noticed that the Diazepam and Nitrazepam were missing from his medications when he got home later that day and by that time the pharmacy had closed.
Unfortunately, the incident occurred on New Year’s Eve and consequently the pharmacy was closed for the next 3 days. As such Mr B was without this vital medical until 04 January. Due to the client’s longstanding prescription, he suffered withdrawal symptoms over this period including episodes of drowsiness and confusion.
It was during one of these episodes on 05 January that Mr B fell and sustained a significant bang to his head, causing him to lose consciousness. He attended A&E the same day and underwent a CT head scan which confirmed a post traumatic haemorrhage.
Curtis Law Solicitors obtained medical records and identified the various breaches of duty of care that had occurred and mapped out the extent of injury those breaches of duty had caused Mr B.
Curtis Law Solicitors’ specialist clinical negligence solicitors secured an admission of liability from the Defendant pharmacy and engaged in settlement negotiations seeking payment of compensation for Mr B’s pain, suffering and loss of amenity. A settlement of £4,500 was secured for Mr B.
Kate Rushton, who conducted the claim for Mr B said; “This was an interesting case where a seemingly simple error had much farther-reaching consequences for a vulnerable client than may have been expected. It was very satisfying to be able to reach a very swift conclusion for the client in this case.
If you wish to discuss a potential clinical negligence claim with our specialist solicitors you can email us, use our online enquiry form, or call us for free on 0800 008 7450.