Kansas City Injury Lawyer Blog

A pharmacy error that mixed up two very different drugs with similar names sent a six year-old child to the hospital after he took the recommended dosage of the wrong medication, which turned out to cause an overdose. The child had to be admitted to the hospital, and his prognosis was unclear for some time. Media reports indicate that he fully recovered. The state's Pharmacy Board reprimanded the pharmacist who made the error, but there is no indication that the child's family has pursued any legal claim for damages against the pharmacy.

The child has a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) with autistic tendencies. His doctor prescribed Methylin, a psychostimulant drug used to treat ADHD and similar conditions. It is also marketed under the more common name Ritalin, or under its generic name, methylphenidate. Methylin has the potential to be habit-forming, so its use is strictly regulated and controlled.

On July 7, 2010, the child's parents picked up what they believed to be his Methylin prescription from the pharmacy in Henrico County, Virginia. His father dropped him off at daycare and gave him his dose of the medicine. He says that he noticed that both the bottle and the medication looked different from what he had seen before. Assuming it was a generic version, he gave it to the child, then called his wife. He told her that the drug name on the prescription bottle was not Methylin, but Methadone.

Continue reading "Medication Error Causes Child to Overdose on Methadone" »

Recently, pharmacies have had a few close calls involving three drugs with very similar names. These incidents underscore the importance of communicating with one's doctor and pharmacist in order to avoid possible medication errors. Mix-ups between the heart medications Pradaxa and Ranexa, as well as the prenatal vitamin Prenexa, have caused several near-misses that could have become serious complications or injuries, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. People taking medications for heart conditions, and people who are pregnant, cannot afford any significant mix-up in their medications, so education and awareness are very important. These three drugs offer a good example of the need for caution.

Pradaxa is a blood thinner used to prevent blood clots in people with a type of irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation. This condition, left untreated, subjects the person to heightened risk of blood clots that could cause stroke. A possible side effect is excessive bruising or bleeding. It can be risky for pregnant women, since it increases the risk of bleeding during childbirth.

Ranexa treats angina, pressure or pain in the chest resulting from lack of oxygen to the heart. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the precise method by which the drug treats angina remains unknown. It cannot cure angina, nor is it meant for use with sudden angina attacks. Patients prescribed the drug should take it regularly as directed by their doctor, even if they do not feel bad. Patients with irregular heartbeat conditions are advised to use caution when taking the drug.

PreNexa is a prescription-based prenatal vitamin containing plant-based DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, as well as high levels of vitamin C and calcium. It has no particular side effects, but it contains allergy warnings for ingredients like folic acid. It is possible to overdose on ingredients like DHA, iron, and folic acid.

Taking Pradaxa for angina, when the patient should be taking Ranexa, increases the risk of hemorrhage. Taking Ranexa instead of Pradaxa for an irregular heartbeat has a heightened risk of stroke. Taking PreNexa instead of either drug would leave the heart condition entirely untreated, and taking either drug instead of PreNexa could cause any number of pregnancy complications

A few quick steps can help patients avoid potentially catastrophic medication errors from similarly-named drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates drug brand names, to an extent, and the agency tries to prevent drugs that treat a single condition from having similar names. Asking the doctor to identify the condition being treated on the prescription slip can help a pharmacist understand the purpose of the prescription and dispense the correct medication.

Continue reading "Two Heart Medications and a Vitamin Create Confusion, Some Errors" »

Two families have sued a pharmacy in Gig Harbor, Washington for multiple alleged medication errors involving incorrect doses of anti-seizure medication dispensed to two children. Both children reportedly suffered serious adverse reactions to the high doses they received at Olympic Pharmacy.

Kaeley Triller filled a prescription for her three year-old son, Tristan, in January at Olympic. After Tristan took the medication, Triller says that he began to suffer insomnia, convulsions, and hallucinations. She described his behavior as that of a "drunken sailor." She rushed him to the emergency room, where the staff determined that the child had taken an overdose. The medication dosage dispensed by the pharmacy was four times greater than the prescribed amount. Doctors cleared Tristan of any further concerns related to the medication, and Triller was prepared to let the matter drop until she learned about another child who had received two incorrect doses of anti-seizure medicine from the same pharmacy.

In 2009, Laura Carlson went to Olympic to pick up a prescription for her then-11 year-old son, Chad. Chad's doctor had written him a prescription for eight mls. of Lorazepam, a very powerful medication used to treat seizures, anxiety, and other conditions. The pharmacy gave her a single pre-filled syringe of the medication. Chad took the medication and proceeded to spend the next four days in the hospital with hallucinations. At first, the child complained of dizziness, but he gradually became non-responsive. Carlson learned that he had taken eight times more than the prescribed amount of Lorazepam. The prescription said to fill eight syringes with one ml. each, rather than one with all the medication.

By June 2011, Chad, now thirteen years old, had switched from injections to tablets. Carlson picked up his prescription at Olympic, and it caused Chad to become violently ill, featuring near-constant vomiting. The family determined that, rather than the prescribed 300 mg tablets, the pharmacy had given them 600 mg tablets. Chad had therefore taken twice the prescribed dosage.

Both families say that the pharmacy's owners did not follow up on the prescription issues. They have filed two separate lawsuits against Olympic, each alleging that it negligently dispensed a dangerously-high dose of anti-seizure medications, leading to life-threatening situations for both children. This, they claim, caused damages to their children in the form of medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more. Both Triller and Carlson have said that they would like to see that the pharmacy does not make this sort of error again with another family.

Continue reading "Two Lawsuits Accuse Pharmacy of Dispensing Wrong Dosage of Seizure Medication" »

As more and more commerce moves from brick-and-mortar businesses to online retailers, online pharmacies are appearing all over the internet. These services can offer significant cost savings for consumers. They can also offer a certain convenience, sparing patients a trip to the drugstore by delivering their medications right to their door. At the same time, they bring some considerable risks. One risk is the possibility that important medications may be delayed, or even lost, in the mail. Other risks can result in serious medical or even legal trouble for consumers.

An advantage of a brick-and-mortar pharmacy is the ability to speak directly to a licensed pharmacist. This gives the patient the chance to ask questions, but it also affords an opportunity for both the patient and the pharmacist to confirm that the patient has received the correct medication. Pharmacy errors in which a patient receives the wrong medication certainly occur, and conducting a transaction entirely online and by mail makes an error harder to rectify. A California woman, trying to fill a prescription for the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, instead received Lipitor in the mail from an online pharmacy. While both drugs treat the same conditions, they work in different ways and are not substitutes for one another. The woman sent the medication back and reported the error to the pharmacy, but received the same wrong medication again. Her only means of contacting the pharmacy was through an 800 number.

While many online pharmacies are legitimate and reputable businesses, some do not maintain high standards of quality control. Some may import prescription drugs from foreign countries that lack regulations protecting the quality of the medications. In that sense, a consumer may receive what appears to be the correct medication, but not the strength or potency of medication that they require. For people with critical medication needs, this can be a grave concern. Legislation that would regulate the sale of prescription medications online, called the Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011, is pending in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Organizations like the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and the Missouri Board of Pharmacy can help determine if an online pharmacy is legitimate.

An additional risk is the inadvertent violation of federal drug laws. Federal law, through the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, bans the importation of controlled substances, including prescription medications, from other countries. With health care costs rising, online pharmacies based in Canada or other countries may present an appealing alternative to domestic pharmacies. While individual purchases of medications for personal use may not immediately attract the attention of law enforcement, it is important to know that it is illegal.

Continue reading "The Risks of Obtaining Medications from Online Pharmacies" »

The family of an elderly Kentucky woman has filed suit against Walgreens pharmacy after an alleged mix-up of her prescription medication led to her death. Mary Moore, a Louisville resident, had just left the hospital after receiving treatment for high blood pressure, kidney failure, and congestive heart failure on November 10, 2010. Her doctor had written her a prescription for the high blood pressure medication Hydralazine. The pharmacy allegedly gave her the antihistamine Hydroxyzine by mistake.

Because of the medication error, Moore's high blood pressure went entirely untreated for about two weeks. The pharmacy reportedly noticed the error and provided Moore with the correct medication, but by then "it was too late," according to the lawsuit. Moore could not tolerate the dosage of the blood pressure medication. Her blood pressure reportedly continued to increase, putting additional strain on her heart. This caused "decompensation" of both her congestive heart failure and her kidney disease. She was hospitalized again, and died on December 6, 2010.

Hydralazine, according to the National Institutes of Health, is a muscle relaxant used to treat high blood pressure. It allows blood to flow more easily by relaxing the muscles in the blood vessels. Hydroxyzine is an antihistamine used to treat allergic reactions such as itching, and to control symptoms of motion sickness. It can also treat anxiety and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The NIH specifically cautions people over the age of 65 to not use Hydroxyzine, as other medications that treat the same conditions are considered safer for older patients.

Moore's family filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville on February 15, 2012 against Walgreens and the pharmacist in charge at that particular location. The lawsuit claims negligence and wrongful death, as well as strict liability, negligent failure to warn, and breach of warranty. The pharmacy's error in dispensing the wrong medication, according to the lawsuit, was a "substantial factor" in Moore's injuries, in enhancing her existing injuries, and in causing her death. The suit also alleges that, by not counseling Moore about the drug at the time she filled the prescription, the pharmacy violated state law. Had the pharmacist spoken to Moore at that time, the pharmacist likely would have noticed that the medication was incorrect, the lawsuit says.

Continue reading "Pharmacy Sued Over Fatal Drug Error" »

After undergoing a fairly simple eye surgery, Queens, New York resident Smith Maceus went to a Walgreens pharmacy to fill a prescription for eye drops. His doctor had prescribed the eye drops to aid in his recovery. An error at the pharmacy, as alleged in a lawsuit filed by Maceus against Walgreens, led to him receiving a wart remover instead of the eye drops. The pharmacist allegedly gave him Durasal instead of the FDA-approved eye medication Durezol. Maceus' lawsuit claims that he suffered "grievous personal injury" as a result of the error. He is demanding $1 million in damages.

The two drugs have similar names but could not be more different. Durezol is a highly dilute eye drop, consisting of 0.05% solution of ophthalmic chemicals. Durasal is a comparatively concentrated acid solution, containing 26% salicylic acid. It would have an unpleasant effect if placed in the eyes.

Maceus' injury was the result of a conflict between drug names that had caused enough problems to get the attention of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA issued an alert to phamracists and other medical professionals in December 2011 of the potential for confusion between Durezol and Durasal. It specifically called on pharmacists to be "vigilant" when filling Durezol prescriptions.

According to the FDA, Durasal's manufacturer did not submit it to the process of FDA review and approval. It went on the market soon after the FDA gave final approval to Durezol. Therefore, the FDA could not do its usual check for conflicting trade names when it reviewed the application for Durezol, as it was not aware of Durasal at the time. Durasal's manufacturer reportedly has not responded to FDA requests to take Durasal off the market while the FDA reviews the risk to patients.

An article at the Consumerist shows the packaging of the two drugs. The boxes bear a vague resemblance to one another, but the real similarity is in the names. Durasal's box does bear a helpful warning, stating that the medication is "NOT FOR USE IN EYES" with the all-caps in the original. It is important to note that pharmacies sometimes repackage drugs, either omitting the box or even putting the medications into the pharmacy's own containers. There is therefore no way of knowing how many patients actually see this warning.

Continue reading "Man Sues Pharmacy for Confusing Wart Remover for Eye Medication, FDA Deals with Similar Drug Names" »

In the past year, federal prosecutors have brought several cases against Kansas nurses for allegedly diluting painkillers prescribed for patients in nursing homes. These cases have demonstrated flaws in the regulation of the nursing profession in Kansas, according to several medical professionals. Tampering with prescribed medications, particularly powerful painkillers, certainly puts patients at risk by depriving patients of needed care and compromising doctors' knowledge of their patients' conditions.

In one case, Wendy Parmenter, a nurse at a Topeka nursing home, was accused of tampering with narcotics and stealing them for her own use on several occasions in 2010. Another nurse reported finding empty morphine bottles, which led the nursing director to order all employees to undergo oral-swab drug tests. Parmenter reportedly failed the test, but then passed two urine tests by substituting another employee's urine for her own. She also allegedly diluted a bottle of morphine with tap water after using some of it. The morphine was intended for a 105 year-old patient suffering from chronic pain and dementia.

Prosecutors charged Parmenter with product tampering and adulteration of a drug. She admitted to addiction to narcotics, saying she would often take painkillers prescribed for patients under her care. She entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors in November 2011. A federal judge in Wichita sentenced her to three years in prison on February 2, although she may qualify for early release if she completes a drug treatment program.

Parmenter, it turned out, had a history of painkiller abuse when the nursing home hired her in June 2010. Two months earlier, while working at a nursing home in Emporia, she had been caught stealing the painkiller hydrocodone from patients. She pleaded guilty to a state charge of drug theft in August 2010 and received probation. This information was not available to the nursing home in Topeka when it hired her. Because of what critics call flaws in Kansas' system of regulations for nurses, the state's Board of Nursing indicated at all times in 2010 that her nursing license was in good standing.

Continue reading "Kansas Nurse Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Drug Tampering" »

Shaniah Rolle needed surgery for some serious intestinal problems. In 1998, doctors at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine had to remove the young girl's spleen and several other organs. This addressed her intestinal problems but compromised her ability to fight off infections. The spleen acts as a filter to screen out bacteria and viruses, so without it she needed medication to prevent illness.

Her mother took her to the hospital's pediatrics unit for a follow-up appointment in October 1998. A medical assistant administered an injection of a vaccine specifically designed to help people without spleens avoid infection. The assistant did not realize, apparently, that the vaccine was about five months out of date. As such, the vaccine was not medically effective.

Rolle's mother rushed her to a different hospital eight months later when she fell seriously ill. She had developed a MRSA infection (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that the vaccine should have prevented. By the time she got treatment, she had blot clots in all four limbs, and the extremities had become gangrenous. Doctors had no choice but to amputate her arms and legs above the joints.

Rolle's mother filed suit against the medical school and several of the physicians who treated her, alleging that they were negligent in failing to provide an effective vaccine to guard against infection. The case went to trial in late 2011. After a five-week trial, the jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict finding mostly for the plaintiff.

The jury found the hospital and at least one of the doctors liable for Rolle's injuries and awarded $12.6 million in damages. They also found, however, that Rolle's mother was partly at fault for her injuries. Defense lawyers argued at trial that Rolle would have gotten sick whether she had the vaccine or not because her mother did not properly administer her medication. The jury concluded that the mother was forty percent responsible for her daughter's injuries for failing to give her enough medicine to enable her to fight off the infection. This means that Rolle cannot collect the entire amount of the award, but rather sixty percent of it, or $7.56 million. Any recovery may be delayed, as the hospital is expected to file an appeal.

Continue reading "Teen Who Lost All Four Limbs Due to a Medication Error Wins $12 Million Jury Verdict" »

After waiting over two years, the pharmaceutical industry finally has a set of guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about using social media to market their products, although they might not be quite what the industry expected. Rather than a set of comprehensive guidelines, the FDA issued a 15-page document limited to the issue of online requests for information on "off-label" uses of medications. "Off-label" typically refers to uses other than those specifically approved by the FDA. This is far less than what much of the industry, known to many as Big Pharma, expected.

The FDA has regulated marketing and advertising of certain controlled substances since its founding in the early 20th century. In recent years, the technology of marketing and advertising has changed at an ever-increasing rate. The amount that Big Pharma spends marketing its products directly to consumers reportedly went from $579 million in 1996 to over $4 billion in 2008. Social media has played a role in marketing and advertising of pharmaceuticals for years, but the FDA did not specifically address the question of how existing rules apply to social media until recently. Big Pharma reportedly spent $1 billion on social media marketing in 2010, and that number is expected to keep increasing.

In April 2009, the FDA took one of its first major actions in regard to social media, sending warning letters to fourteen drug companies who were allegedly sponsoring search-engine ads for certain pharmaceuticals without including legally-required statements of risks. Drug companies had used what they called the "one-click rule," meaning that information on risk was no more than one mouse click away from any web page containing marketing information. Social media, which allows consumers to post their own information, makes it very difficult to maintain risk information in proximity to drug information.

The FDA held public hearings for two days in November 2009 to discuss social media marketing of pharmaceuticals. It considered how pharmaceutical companies may present information through their own websites, but also how they might support third parties, such as bloggers or Twitter users, who could post information outside of the FDA's normal area of review by offering positive reviews of products or challenging negative information. At the time of the hearings, observers thought the FDA might choose to ban social media marketing of prescription medications entirely, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. The FDA's eventual response, issued in December 2011, is not nearly as far-reaching as many expected and some feared.

Continue reading "FDA Offers Some Guidlines on Social Media Marketing of Pharmaceuticals" »

The family of a Florida man who died after receiving the wrong medication at a Florida hospital has filed a lawsuit against the hospital. In July 2010, 79 year-old Richard Smith went to North Shore Medical Center with shortness of breath and was admitted to the ICU. A doctor prescribed the antacid Pepcid, but the nurse administered Pancuronium by mistake. Pancuronium is a muscle relaxant used while intubating hospital patients, but is also used as part of a mixture of drugs in lethal injections.

The nurse had to get the Pancuronium from a locked drug cart in the ICU, while Pepcid is available over-the-counter. News reports do not indicate if the hospital keeps Pepcid in the same area. The nurse apparently injected the Pancuronium into Smith's IV and left. According to University of Miami anesthesiologist Dr. Keith Candiotti, the drug would not cause a patient to lose consciousness but would render them unable to move or breathe in a large enough dose. Smith lay unattended for half an hour, according to hospital records, before staff noticed that he was unresponsive. Smith's son arrived at the hospital shortly afterwards to find his father unconscious. Although Smith was resuscitated, he never regained consciousness and died almost a month later.

According to news reports by Miami's WPLG, the nurse who administered the incorrect medication to Smith still works at the same hospital. He was reprimanded, paid a $2,800 fine, and had to attend "remediation courses." The hospital reported that he had been "appropriately counseled and re-trained." It has reportedly removed Pancuronium from most areas except the operating rooms themselves, and upgraded the medication's packaging to include additional warnings.

Smith's family filed suit in a Miami court in November against North Shore, claiming damages for wrongful death and the loss of Smith's income and support. They particularly note that, in addition to making a mistake, the hospital did not notice their error for thirty minutes, leaving Smith alone that whole time. Smith's family does not feel the punishment meted out so far is enough. Smith and his wife, Lula, had four children of their own and adopted and raised ten other children. She still has care of two children, ages 2 and 10, that they had taken in when the children's mother died.

Continue reading "Man Dies After Accidentally Receiving Drug Used in Executions" »

The Springfield News-Leader recently reported on the tragic story of a 34 year-old man who hung himself while hospitalized for depression. Hospitals call this a "never event," a tragedy that normally should not happen in a health care facility. This could also include major medication errors, surgeries performed incorrectly or on the wrong patient, or a death during an otherwise ordinary procedure. The man's father reached a confidential settlement with the hospital over his son's death, but also says he never received an apology from the hospital. His case illustrates the problem of tracking and obtaining information on such "never events" in hospitals in Missouri.

Few states require reporting of adverse events by hospital and other medical providers, with most having a system of voluntary reporting. Few states allow public disclosure of data related to any such reports, making it difficult for people injured due to medication errors and other hospital mishaps to obtain information they may need to protect their rights.

Hospitals and other providers have generally fought efforts to mandate reporting and to make information available to the public. Concerns over liability, and of course litigation, lead the objections. An official with the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) describes a "no-blame culture" that encourages voluntary reporting of errors by removing the immediate fear of liability. It would seem that any reports or documentation that contain information relevant to a specific patient's claim for damages ought to be subject to discovery by an attorney. Patient privacy laws may hinder error reporting, as medical providers cannot disclose confidential patient information except in specific circumstances. Safeguards exist, however, that would allow reporting without violating such laws.

Both federal and state laws have attempted to address these issues. While they may have made positive steps towards greater patient safety, they still do not allow access to information that could help an injured patient, nor do they help the government analyze broad samples of data. The federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA) was intended to provide for widespread sharing of error information by medical providers and government officials. The law allowed the designation of patient safety organizations (PSO's) in each state to collect data from hospitals and other providers on adverse events and unsafe conditions. The PSQIA does not allow disclosure of any of this information to the public, and any disclosure is strictly regulated. It also does not require reporting of errors, instead making all reporting voluntary. The AHRQ is supposed to review data collected by the PSO's, but with only voluntary reporting it cannot perform any sort of meaningful analysis.

Continue reading "Few Resources Available for Tracking Missouri Hospital Errors" »

An Ohio pharmacist received a six-month prison sentence after a medication error caused a two year-old child's death. In February 2006, Emily Jerry went into Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland with her parents. She was there for her last chemotherapy treatment. A pharmacy technician prepared the medication for her treatment, but used the wrong saline dosage. Instead of the recommended one percent solution, the technician used a solution with twenty-three percent saline. When the treatment was administered to Emily, she reportedly began screaming and quickly fell into a coma. She died several days later.

An investigation into Emily's death found that, although the pharmacy tech claimed to have expressed concerns about the solution she had prepared, the supervising pharmacist, Eric Cropp, signed off on it. Cropp lost his pharmacist license, and prosecutors charged him with involuntary manslaughter in Emily's death. The pharmacy technician did not face any criminal liability. Evidence presented by the defense suggested that the busy and chaotic environment of the hospital, as well as a rush job on Emily's medication, contributed to a tragic accident. Cropp received a six-month prison sentence in 2009. Criminal liability for a pharmacists, or any medical professional, is rather rare, so the case resonated in the pharmacist community. With a felony conviction on his record, Cropp will never work as a pharmacist again, but the case has created benefits for patient safety in Ohio.

Ohio legislators introduced a bill in 2007 inspired by this case. At the time of Emily's death, Ohio did not require any specific educational background or license for pharmacy technicians. While pharmacists bear final responsibility for the technicians they supervise, technicians have a great deal of responsibility for the actual preparation of medications. Supporters of the bill noted the importance of ensuring a minimum level of competence as a means of avoiding future tragedies like Emily Jerry. The bill, known as Emily's Law, took effect when Ohio governor Ted Strickland signed it in January 2009.

Continue reading "Fatal Medication Error Results in Jail Sentence for Supervising Pharmacist, Inspires New Law" »

When pharmaceutical companies allegedly violate regulations governing prescription drugs and medical devices, federal and state governments frequently pursue civil and criminal claims against them. Drug and medical device companies have paid billions in fines and settlements over complaints of marketing schemes that violate federal and state law, often involving kickbacks to doctors and hospitals in exchange for favoring a particular drug or device. Such a scheme clearly subverts a doctor's independent professional judgment and creates a conflict of interest, since the doctor might not have a patient's best interest foremost in mind. According to a review conducted by reporters for the Washington Post and ProPublica, of all the civil and criminal cases brought recently over these issues, almost none resulted in penalties of any sort for the doctors involved. This should cause concern for patient safety, for if doctors are not held responsible for their roles in kickback schemes, other companies may continue the kickback process and put patients at risk.

A kickback scheme typically involves a drug or medical device manufacturer offering a benefit to a doctor in order to encourage that doctor to prescribe a particular drug or device. This rarely, if ever, involves outright payment of money. In the recent cases brought by the federal government, for example, drug companies allegedly offered paid speaking engagements to doctors who prescribed their medications. The concern for patient safety involves the unique doctor-patient relationship, in which a doctor must evaluate all options for treatment and make an impartial decision based on all available information. Introducing a form of inducement to favor one medication or treatment over another has the potential to corrupt this process. As a result, patients may receive inappropriate or off-label medications, or even incorrect or unnecessary treatments. The cases brought by the government did not allege any specific harm to patients resulting from the kickback schemes, but proving damage like that was not a necessary part of their case.

Since 2008, at least fifteen companies selling both medications and medical devices have settled cases alleging kickbacks and marketing fraud to the tune of around $6.5 billion. Over 75 doctors appeared in the various civil and criminal complaints as alleged participants in both illegal marketing and kickback schemes, but according to the review by Washington Post and ProPublica reporters, none of them faced sanctions. Reporters consulted with state medical boards and found that they rarely investigated the allegations of wrongdoing by the doctors contained in the government's complaints.

Continue reading "Doctors Pay Few Penalties in Cases of Unlawful Pharmaceutical Marketing" »

A St. Louis man has sued Walgreens Pharmacy over an error in filling his prescription that led to him taking the wrong medication. A similar case in Colorado involves a young woman whose pregnancy was put at risk because of a prescription mistake. These cases illustrate both the potential for serious error in pharmacies and the importance of customers taking steps to research and understand their prescribed medications in order to avoid injury.

Ron Apenbrinck alleges that he tried to fill a prescription for the painkiller hydrocodone, but received a medication called Amlopidine Besylate, used to treat heart problems, according to KMOV television in St. Louis. The prescription bag had his name on it, but the pill bottle in the bag allegedly had a different patient's name. Apenbrinck says he took the medication for several days until he became dizzy and suffered a fall. He spent several days in the hospital, having suffered a "mini-stroke." He claims in his lawsuit that he has suffered permanent injuries, including an irregular heartbeat, head, neck, and back injuries, and nervous system damage. He further claims he must now take eleven medications daily to treat these injuries. Walgreens has allegedly apologized and offered to pay Apenbrinck's medical bills. His lawsuit asks for millions of dollars in damages.

A Colorado case from earlier this year offers a chilling view of possible consequences of a pharmacy error. Mareena Silva, who was six-weeks pregnant, picked up a prescription from a Safeway in Fort Lupton, Colorado in February, expecting an antibiotic. She took one pill and began to feel nauseous. She then discovered that she had received a bottle of methotrexate prescribed for Maria Silva. The pharmacy had confused two similar-sounding names. Methotrexate is a cancer drug that can also be used in early termination of pregnancies. Silva rushed to the hospital for treatment. She did not lose her baby, but whether this incident will have an effect on the child's health is not known. Safeway has also apparently apologized and offered to pay medical expenses.

Pharmacists have the primary duty to review all prescriptions and see that they are filled and distributed to patients correctly. Errors in the actual measuring and filling of prescriptions, up to the point where medications are put into bottles and labeled, clearly falls within the pharmacist's responsibility. Once the prescription bottles are ready for the patient, the pharmacists still bears a duty of care and a professional responsibility to the patients, but patients have the ability to exercise a degree of care to protect themselves.

Continue reading "Prescription Mixups at Pharmacies Lead to Lawsuits for Injuries Caused by the Wrong Medication" »

Nurses at Kansas City's Research Medical Center held a rally on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 to address concerns regarding the shortage of nurses at the hospital and its potential impact on patient safety. The rally developed out of negotiations between the hospital and the nurses' union over a new labor contract. The nurses participating in the rally stated that their primary goal is patient safety, while hospital officials stated that it was a "bargaining tactic" in the ongoing contract negotiations.

Nurses in Research Medical Center's intensive care unit claim that they must care for at least 3 patients at a time, while nurses in other departments report having upwards of 5 patients at a time. They state that this stretches the nursing staff thin and increases the likelihood of injuries among patients and errors affecting patient health, including errors in prescribing and administering medications. Nurses who must divide their time among too many patients are more prone to fatigue and mistakes in judgment. Studies indicate that a 2 to 1 patient-to-nurse ratio is ideal in intensive care facilities, the nurses say.

The Kansas City nurses' complaints illustrate an alarming trend in hospitals. The Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, has found an average rate of one medication error per patient per day in America's hospitals, regardless of the number or employment status of its nurses. A University of Pennsylvania study has shown an increased incidence of patient deaths in hospitals with high patient-to-nurse ratios, with factors such as fatigue and burnout leading to a higher rate of mistakes. This Kansas City Injury Lawyer Blog has previously commented on reports that hospitals using temporary emergency room staff, including nurses, show an elevated risk of medication errors, largely because temporary staff lack familiarity with the hospital's facilities and procedures. These factors may have come together recently in San Francisco with tragic results, when a patient died as a result of a medication error during a nursing strike, when replacement staff was on duty.

Continue reading "Kansas City Nurses Rally, Claiming Hospitals Are Risking Patient Safety" »