A patient has been awarded £20,000 compensation after a pharmacy mistakenly gave him tablets to treat prostrate problems instead of his usual medication to control his blood pressure.
Steven Edwards, 65, of Hull, had been taking Felodipine tablets daily for eight years without any issues, and initially thought nothing when noticing the latest set of tablets he’d been given were a different colour.
However, after developing headaches and pains in his arms, feeling constantly ill and also noticing a swelling of his lips, he checked the medication packaging closely and noticed the label did not match the medication name on the box.
It transpired that Lloyds Pharmacy, in the Marfleet Health Centre in Preston Road, Hull, had mistakenly given him Finasteride tablets, which are used to treat prostrate issues, rather than Felodipine tablets, which he was prescribed by his doctor.
Now, following a medical negligence legal claim, led Hudgell Solicitors on Mr Edwards’ behalf, he has been awarded compensation of £20,000.
‘Frightening time’
“I find it hard to understand how this happened as it can’t have been a mistake by a single person, as surely someone has to make up the prescription, then somebody should check it, and there should be a final check before it is handed to a patient,” said Mr Edwards, who ran his own business at the time.
“I didn’t think anything of the tablets being a different colour, as I’ve known pharmacies change suppliers in the past, so they can change colour but be the same medication. It wasn’t long before I started to feel quite ill though and developed the headaches and pains. I just wasn’t right.
“It was after a couple of weeks that I considered the tablets and when I looked I saw the label sticker across the box with my name on had a different medication name to that on the box. It was a frightening time as there had been stories in the news about somebody dying after being given the wrong tablets.”
Mr Edwards says the pharmacy immediately admitted their error when he took the tablets back in, and says his blood pressure was found to be high. It still remained high a week later, when he returned to the health centre for a routine check-up.
“When I went in the week after and my blood pressure was high, it appeared that the doctor wasn’t aware of what had happened with my medication, and that didn’t seem right so I thought I should take it further. That’s when I sought legal advice,” he said.
“These mistakes shouldn’t happen. I thought it needed investigating as, if the worse had happened to me, my family would have lost a husband, father and grandfather who they depend on, but I’d just be another number in the NHS statistics.”
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Claim settled out of court
Medical negligence claims specialist at Hudgell Solicitors, Rachel O’Connor, led the prescription error claim against Lloyds Pharmacy, in which an independent medical expert was instructed to review the case, highlighting a 12 to 24 months psychological impact on Mr Edwards, causing anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
As part of the compensation settlement, the cost of Mr Edwards having a number of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions was covered, with damages also reflecting the impact on his mental health.
Legal representatives of the pharmacy admitted breach of duty when making the medication error in January 2018.
“Medication errors are completely avoidable if the right checks are carried out by pharmacies, who should have procedures in place to ensure patients never leave their premises with the wrong medication,” said Miss O’Connor.
“It is the nature of the job that pharmacies hand out many medications to patients which have very similar names, but treat very different conditions and, of course, can be fatal if taken by people they were not intended for.
“We were pleased to be able to secure a final settlement of £20,000 for Mr Edwards, without the need for the matter to go to court. This was after legal representatives acting for the pharmacy initially offered a £14,500 settlement after admitting breach of duty of care.”
Mr Edwards, now 70, added: “Although it was only two weeks taking the wrong tablets it still plays on my mind now how dangerous and damaging this could have been. I feel taking legal action was the right thing to do as I had been given the impression it wasn’t being properly investigated at the time.
“Hudgells were fantastic and Rachel was superb and a great support throughout the claim. She always had time to talk me through things, and explain it in plain English. I can’t thank her and Hudgells enough.”
Prescription Error Compensation Claims
If you believe you have been prescribed medication incorrectly by a healthcare professional, we will provide expert legal advice and support for you and your loved ones. The most commons errors we see relate to:
- Incorrect medication being given.
- Incorrect dosages being prescribed.
- Medication being prescribed for too long a period.
- Patients given someone else’s medication while in hospital.
- Two or more conflicting medicines taken together.
- Medication supplied to a patient who is allergic to it.
