Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog
In a blog from last week, our Maryland Pharmacy Misfill Injury Attorneys discussed a recent case involving a victim of prescription error involving a patient who was given the incorrect dosage of blood thinners and suffered a massive stroke—leading to her wrongful death.
In related news, our lawyers have been following the recent case of an eight-year old boy, who was immediately hospitalized after a pharmacy error resulted in the boy receiving medication that was ten times stronger than his original prescription.
According to an ABC news article, Jessie Jordan, an 8-year old child from Grand Tower, Illinois, was on medication to treat his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The doctor reportedly suggested adding a two-milligram dosage Abilify to his medication list—a drug used to help manage depression and schizophrenia in adults, that the doctor felt could improve his moods.
When the pharmacy filled the prescription for Jordan, they reportedly gave him twenty milligrams of Abilify instead of two—ten times more than the prescribed dosage. Jordan’s father claimed that once he began the medication, he experienced shaking that was uncontrollable, his blood pressure went through the roof, and he experienced delirium. He was taken to the hospital, and according to the news report, the extent of the physical damage and personal injury won’t be known for another month or so, until the child can eliminate from the powerful drug in his body.
Walgreens apologized to the family, and claimed to take investigate what happened, to prevent medication mistakes from happening in the future.
According to the ABC article, more than 3 billion prescriptions are filled in this country every year—three-quarters of which are filled at big chain drug stores like Walgreens. In pharmacies, Medication mistakes can happen anytime in the prescription process, from prescribing to distributing, or in the dispensing, administering or monitoring of the drug—often times resulting in personal injury. Pharmacists are reportedly often overworked, or relying too much on pharmacy technicians who can be young and often under trained. ABC reports that there is currently no national age restriction on technician training standards.
In the Walgreens lawsuit from last week that our attorneys reported on, an 18 year old pharmacy technician with minimal training mistakenly filled a one-milligram prescription dosage with ten-milligrams of a blood thinning drug, which resulted in a severe stroke in the victim and ultimately wrongful death. The court ruled in favor of the victim’s family for $33 million in damages.
Our pharmacy misfill attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers are committed to making sure that medication error victims and their loved ones receive the personal injury compensation they deserve. If you or someone you loved has been injured due to a pharmacy error in the Washington D.C. area or in the state of Maryland, contact us at 1-800-654-1949 to schedule your free consultation.
Prescription Mistake Sends 8-Year-Old to Hospital, WSILTV/ABC, March 19, 2010
Related Web Resources:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Medication Error Reports
Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (ISMP)
Institute of Medicine, (IOM)
National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, (NCCMERP)