This guide will explore when you could be eligible to make a medical negligence claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin. It’s important to be aware that allergic reaction compensation claims must meet the relevant eligibility criteria and medical negligence claims time limit before you can start legal proceedings. We explore these in more detail throughout our guide.
Medical professionals owe their patients a duty of care to provide care that meets the correct standard. We provide examples of how a medical professional could act negligently and cause allergic reactions to penicillin in their patients.
Additionally, we look at what evidence can help prove your clinical negligence claim as well as how settlements for negligent allergic reactions are calculated.
Finally, we discuss how an experienced medical negligence solicitor on our panel could assist you on a No Win No Fee basis.
Contact us today for free advice and to see whether you have valid grounds to claim compensation for an allergic reaction to medication. We can offer a free case assessment to determine whether you could proceed with your case. To get in touch, you can:
- Call 0800 408 7827.
- Submit your details in our Contact Us form.
- Message in our live chat box.
Jump To A Section:
- Can I Claim For An Allergic Reaction To Penicillin?
- How Could A Medication Allergic Reaction To Penicillin Happen?
- Evidence That Could Be Used In A Medical Negligence Case
- Potential Compensation For Claims For Allergic Reactions
- Claim For Allergic Reaction To Penicillin With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Claiming For An Allergic Reaction To Medication
Can I Claim For An Allergic Reaction To Penicillin?
Every medical professional owes a duty of care to their patients. They must give care that is of the correct standard. You can only be eligible to make an allergic reactions claim after experiencing an allergic reaction to penicillin if medical negligence occurred. Medical negligence is when a healthcare provider breaches their duty of care, making you suffer harm that was preventable.
As such, for an allergic reaction claim, simply having allergic reactions does not necessarily mean that you’re entitled to compensation. For example, if you’re unaware that you’re allergic to penicillin (and so the healthcare providers would also be unaware), you wouldn’t be able to claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin. You need to provide evidence that the medical professional prescribed or administered penicillin to you when you had a known allergy that was listed in your medical records, for example.
The eligibility criteria that need to be proven before you can start making an allergic reactions medical negligence claim are as follows:
- The medical professional treating you owed you a duty of care.
- They breached their duty.
- You suffered unnecessary harm, or harm that could have been avoided because of the breach.
If you contact us for free legal advice, we can talk about your eligibility to claim compensation following a medication error. Alternatively, read on to find out how long you have to claim allergic reaction compensation.
Is There A Time Limit When Claiming Prescription Error Compensation?
As per the Limitation Act 1980, a medical negligence claim for a medication allergic reaction, such as from a prescription error, needs to be made either within 3 years from the date of the medical negligence, or the date you realised medical negligence occurred.
There are some exceptions to this rule where this standard time limit will not apply . This will be for claimants under 18 or claimants who lack the mental capacity to claim. We can tell you more about these exceptions if you call using the number above.
How Could A Medication Allergic Reaction To Penicillin Happen?
Penicillin is an antibiotic that can be used to treat conditions such as chest infections. An allergic reaction to penicillin can lead to symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing. Sometimes, in extreme cases, the patient having an allergic reaction could go into anaphylactic shock. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction which can lead to brain damage and organ damage.
Examples of how allergic reactions could happen due to a healthcare provider breaching their duty of care include:
- Being provided with the wrong medication. A doctor prescribed you with a different type of antibiotic due to your penicillin allergy but due to a dispensing medication error by the pharmacy, you receive the wrong medication in the form of penicillin. This could cause a fatal allergic reaction.
- A nurse or doctor may not check your medical notes when providing you with medication. As a result, they administer penicillin and you suffer brain damage after a severe reaction to medication leads you to suffer anaphylaxis.
We can help if you are suffering from the effects of a medication error due to a healthcare provider’s negligent actions. We can provide information on allergic reaction compensation claims to help you understand when you might have a valid case.
Evidence That Could Be Used In A Medical Negligence Case
Evidence is essential in an allergic reaction claim. It can prove that a breach in duty of care by a medical professional occurred and that you suffered unnecessary harm as a result.
Potential types of evidence that can help support your claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin include:
- Keeping a diary with recordings of your symptoms and treatment.
- Taking photographs of any visible physical harm of your allergic reaction. This may be more likely for severe allergic reactions.
- Getting copies of your medical records that show the effects of your allergic reaction.
- Collect witness information if anyone attended your appointments with you. For example, they may be able to provide a statement confirming that you declared any drug allergies in your appointment.
One of the many benefits of having a solicitor from our panel represent you is that they will work with you to collect the evidence you need. If you wish to instruct an expert medical negligence solicitor to represent your case, please get in touch with us.
Potential Compensation For Allergic Reaction Claims
How much compensation that is awarded after a successful allergic reaction claim depends the unique and specific circumstances of your case. Generally, though, a settlement awarded after a successful case can have up to two different heads of claim.
General damages, the first head of claim, awards you for the physical and psychological effects of the preventable harm you have suffered from a medical professional breaching their duty of care.
Whoever calculates the value of your general damages will look at your individual medical reports and the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG has guideline compensation brackets to accompany different types of harm.
Injuries Table
We have included some guideline figures from the JCG in the table, with the exception of the first entry. Please use this table as a guide only. If you successfully claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin, the compensation you receive will depend on the specifics of your case.
| Harm | Severity | Guideline Compensation Brackets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious illnesses and injuries with financial losses | Serious | Up to £1,000,000+ | A payout consisting of compensation for the physical and mental effects of medical negligence with financial losses, such as lost income, medical expenses, and care costs. |
| Brain damage | Very severe (a) | £282,010 to £403,990 | There will be no, or little, meaningful response to the surrounding environment and no, or little, language function with double incontinence. The person will also need full-time care. |
| Moderately severe (b) | £219,070 to £282,010 | A very serious cognitive or physical disability with a substantial dependence on others. Full-time professional care is needed. | |
| Moderate (c) (i) | £150,110 to £219,070 | A severe to moderate intellectual deficit. There is also a personality change, effect on the senses, and a significant epilepsy risk with no employment prospects. | |
| Kidney | Serious and permanent damage or loss (a) | £169,400 to £210,400 | Where both kidneys are affected. |
| Significant (b) | Up to £63,980 | Risk of total loss of function or future risk of a urinary tract infection. | |
| Loss of one kidney (c) | £30,770 to £44,880 | No effect on the other kidney. | |
| Spleen | Loss (a) | £20,800 to £26,290 | Ongoing risk of an internal disorders and infection due to a damaged immune system. |
Claiming Special Damages After Being Given The Wrong Prescription
You could also receive special damages if your allergic reactions claim is successful. Special damages, the second head of claim, awards you for the financial effects of the preventable harm you have suffered from a medical professional breaching their duty of care. For example:
- Lost wages if any work is missed.
- The costs to travel to and from the hospital.
- Medical expenses, such as medication costs.
Please keep hold of any receipts, bank statements, invoices, and payslips that show the financial losses you have suffered.
If you have suffered an allergic reaction to penicillin and would like to find out more information regarding how much compensation could be awarded for allergic reactions, don’t hesitate to contact us and seek advice. We will answer any of your questions and address any of your concerns.
Claim For Allergic Reaction To Penicillin With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Contact us for free to see if a No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitor from our panel could help you claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin. If you are eligible to claim compensation, our panel of solicitors will offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA allows you to carry out legal proceedings with no fees for your solicitor’s work before and during the claims process. Also, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not need to pay these fees.
If your claim succeeds, your specialist medical negligence solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation total. The law always maximises this percentage so you can still receive the majority of your compensation total. This is called a success fee.
To find out if you are eligible to claim compensation and receive free legal advice with a solicitor from our panel, please contact us using one of these contact methods:
- Call 0800 408 7827.
- Submit your details in our Contact Us form.
- Message in our live chat box.
Learn More About Claiming For An Allergic Reaction To Medication
More of our helpful guides:
- If you are looking to make a medical negligence claim, you might be wondering what the maximum payouts for hospital negligence claims could be.
- To help you confirm whether you suffered medical negligence, this guide gives you the main causes of medication errors due to a breach in duty of care from a medical professional.
- Find out how to claim compensation for a medication error in a care home on behalf of yourself or a loved one.
More helpful resources:
- GOV.UK – If you have had to have time off work because of the effects of allergic reactions, see if you can receive Statutory Sick Pay.
- NHS – Read about the side effects of antibiotics and when you should seek medical assistance.
- General Medical Council (GMC) – A patient’s guide and materials, including what you should expect from your doctor.
Thank you for reading this guide. We hope we have answered the question, ‘can I claim for an allergic reaction to penicillin?’. However, if you need any other information, you can get in touch with us. We want to help you as much as we can if allergic reactions have been suffered due to a doctor’s negligent actions.