Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog

Appellate Court Holds Pharmaceutical Company Need Only Warn Physician of Side Effects; No Duty to Warn Patients

December 30, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided a case reinforcing the laws surrounding whom the manufacturer of a medication must warn about the potentially dangerous side effects of the medication. In the case, Yates v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharma., Inc., the Court ultimately determined that the duty to warn extends only to the physician, and not to the patient. Thus, the patient’s case against the drug manufacturer was properly dismissed by a lower court.

Yates v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharma., Inc.

The plaintiff was a sexually active woman who was suffering from extreme menstrual cramps and consulted her doctor about potential medications that may help her. The doctor told her of two choices, ORTHO-EVRA and Depo-Provera. The doctor warned the plaintiff that there was some risk of blood clotting and stroke with ORTHO-EVRA, and the plaintiff decided to first try Depo-Provera.

After a few months, the plaintiff noticed she had gained weight, which was a side effect of Depo-Provera. She consulted her doctor, who again advised her of the risks associated with ORTHO-EVRA, and this time she decided to give it a try. The plaintiff suffered a stroke during the application of her first weekly patch. The woman filed a lawsuit against ORTHA-EVRA’s manufacturer, alleging that the company did not adequately warn her of the risks involved with taking the medication.

Information Is Key to Preventing Pharmacy Errors

December 16, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacy errors occur at an alarming rate across the United States. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, there are approximately 1.3 million people who are injured each year by an error made in the pharmacy setting. These errors range in both severity and cause, but the bottom line is that they are almost all due to an overburdened pharmacist making a mistake in the heat of the moment.

Although most pharmacy errors are complete accidents or oversights, that does not excuse the negligent pharmacist from fault. In fact, Maryland law allows for any person who is harmed by a pharmacist’s negligence to recover compensation for their injuries and emotional distress through a personal injury lawsuit.

There are several common scenarios that give rise to serious pharmacy errors, including when a pharmacist provides the wrong type of medication to the patient, provides the right drug but the wrong dose or strength of the medication, provides the wrong dosage instructions, fails to warn the patient of interactions with commonly taken over-the-counter medications or other known prescriptions, or fails to advise the patient of expected or possible side effects of the medication.

Statutes of Limitations in Pharmacy Error Cases

December 9, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Almost all personal injury cases must be brought within a certain amount of time. The laws that set forth the specific amount of time in each type of case are called statutes of limitations. A plaintiff’s failure to bring a suit in the applicable amount of time under the statute of limitations can mean that the plaintiff forever loses the ability to bring that case.

Maryland Pharmacy Error Cases

Under Maryland law, personal injury and medical malpractice cases must be brought within either three or five years, depending on the specific circumstances of the alleged injury and when it was discovered by the plaintiff. Under the general rule, a lawsuit must be brought within three years of the discovery of the injury. However, no claims will be allowed after five years of the date of the injury.

When the “clock” starts ticking is sometimes up to interpretation. For example, in some pharmacy error or medical malpractice cases, the plaintiff’s injury is not immediately apparent. In these cases, the plaintiff will have up to five years from the time the injury occurred to bring the lawsuit. Importantly, this may be different from when the injury was discovered by the plaintiff.

What is a “Wrongful Birth” Claim?

December 2, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

You may have heard of a wrongful death claim that is brought by an aggrieved loved one after the passing of their family member due to the negligence of someone else. However, there also exists a “wrongful birth” claim that can arise when a woman becomes pregnant despite her best efforts to prevent the pregnancy.

There are several kinds of birth control, and none of them are 100% effective all of the time. However, when a medication or a birth control device works properly, they are generally about 99% effective. If a birth control medication fails to do what it is designed to do, and a woman becomes pregnant, the woman may be able file a wrongful life claim against the manufacturer of the medical device or medication and potentially against the doctor as well.

Each case is different, but it is standard that a successful plaintiff is able to recover the expenses of the medical treatment sought throughout the pregnancy. In some cases, she may be able to recover the costs of raising the child, up to the age of 18.

Woman’s Depression Worsens after Being Provided the Wrong Medication

November 24, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in New Zealand, a woman who was traveling throughout the country suffered worsening depression and potentially other long-term side effects after a pharmacist provided her with the wrong medication. According to one local news source, the woman went to see a general practice doctor who refilled her prescription of an SSRI medication used to treat her depression.

Evidently, the woman took the refill to a nearby pharmacy to get it filled. However, the filling pharmacist provided the woman with Duride instead of the SSRI medication. Duride is a cardiac medication typically used to treat angina. The error, however, was not immediately discovered. It took some time for the woman to notice a worsening in her depression. She began to once again suffer from anxiety, migraines, and heart palpitations. Her relationship broke down, and she was unable to find a job. She eventually went back to the doctor, who upon seeing the packaging of the medication she was taking, immediately knew it was not the SSRI she had been prescribed.

The doctor notified the pharmacy of the error. The pharmacist has since told reporters that there was “no explanation” for the mix-up. He also noted that, at the time of the error, the two medications had similar packaging and were near each other on the shelf. The pharmacist took full responsibility, noting that the pharmacy technician that day was not involved in the error, and he also apologized to the patient for the error.

Birth Control Mix Up Results in 113 Unintended Pregnancies, Lawsuit Follows

November 16, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month, a lawsuit was filed in Philadelphia, alleging that improperly packaged birth control medication resulted in over 100 unplanned and unintended pregnancies. According to one national news source, the drugs involved are Cyclafem, Emoquette, Gildess, Orsythia, Previfem, and Tri-Previfem.

Evidently, the birth control medication was packaged incorrectly, decreasing the drug’s effectiveness in preventing pregnancy. Normally, birth control medication comes in a blister pack, one pill for each day of the month. Twenty-one of the pills contain hormones that prevent pregnancy, and seven of the pills are a placebo. Women taking the medication are supposed to take it in order, without mixing the hormone pills with the placebo pills. By incorrectly packaging the drug and mixing up the order of the pills, the plaintiffs allege that the manufacturer of the medication was negligent and that its negligence resulted in the unplanned pregnancies.

A few days prior to the filing of this lawsuit, a similar one was filed in Georgia. However, the judge hearing that case denied the plaintiffs’ request to be certified as a class in order to proceed as a class action lawsuit. The judge explained that “each plaintiff must show in an individualized manner which ‘physical symptoms’ she suffered, her medical history, and whether her use of any allegedly defective product resulted in these physical symptoms or a pregnancy.” Since each of the women’s situations was different, the judge declined the request to certify the class.

Pharmacy Hands Out Bipolar Medication to Trick-or-Treaters

November 9, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Late last month on Halloween, a Canadian pharmacy accidentally provided medication used to treat bipolar disorder to young trick-or-treaters who visited the store. According to one local news source that covered the story, seven children are known to have actually taken the medication in place of candy. However, all of the pills were located before they were consumed by the children.

Evidently, the pharmacy had a candy bin out on the pharmacy counter so that young trick-or-treaters could help themselves as their parents conducted their business. However, at some point in the day, a customer who was visiting the pharmacy to fill her 17-year-old son’s prescription for quetiapine and divalproex inadvertently dropped the medication on the floor prior to leaving.

Another customer, thinking she was preventing a potential mix-up, picked up the medication off the floor and put it on the counter, next to the candy bin. Shortly afterward, a pharmacy employee saw the pills sitting next to the bin and then dumped them into the candy bin. Seven of the individually wrapped pills were given out to children over the course of the day before management discovered what had occurred.

New Study Shows Post-Op Medication Errors More Common than Previously Thought

November 2, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month, a new study was released that claims post-operation medication errors can occur in as many as one in every two patients. According to one local news source that covered the new study, the study was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and looked at roughly 275 surgeries.

The results came back indicating that in the post-operation setting some kind of human error or “adverse event” occurred in about 50% of all patients. Prescriptions that were filled in the hospital showed an error rate of about 5%. Most of the prescription errors fell into several categories: incorrect dosing, drug documentation problems, drug labeling mistakes, and improperly documenting patients’ vital signs. Researchers believe that about 80% of the errors they found could be classified as “preventable,” had appropriate measures been taken.

The researchers found that about 5% of those patients who were provided a wrong medication or dose had “negative effects” from the administration of the drug. Two-thirds of the errors were considered “serious,”and 2% of the errors were classified as “life threatening.”

Medication Error Results in $12.2 Million Verdict

October 29, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Oregon, a jury awarded a man’s personal representative $12.2 million for the man’s injuries, which included severe brain damage after he was administered a dose that was 15 times stronger than prescribed. According to one local news report, the alleged medical malpractice took place back in 2011, when the man was provided medication to help his heartbeat stabilize.

Evidently, the anesthesiologist in charge of the man’s care provided him with a dose of 2,700 milligrams of amiodarone instead of the 150-milligram dose that was prescribed by the surgeon. As a result, the man suffered severe brain damage. The court appointed a conservator, who filed a medical malpractice case against the hospital, the anesthesiologist, and the agency that contracted the anesthesiologist to the hospital.

At trial, it came out that the anesthesiologist misread some figures on a hospital computer screen and grabbed three 900-milliliter bottles, thinking they were just 50-milliliter bottles.

Pharmacists’ Performance Evaluation Metric Acts Like a “Quota System” to Reward Speed Over Precision

October 19, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Pharmacies, like other businesses, are operated for profit, and labor is one of the main expenses for a pharmacy. Therefore, a pharmacy that hopes to remain profitable will likely try and provide only enough pharmacists who will be able to fill the prescriptions for the patients who come through the door. Excess pharmacists means the pharmacy is losing money in labor costs.

However, as one recent industry news source points out, the evaluation metric being used by some pharmacies feels a lot like a quota system where pharmacists are pressured into fill prescriptions as quickly as possible. This, of course, could have a detrimental effect on the pharmacist’s accuracy.

Pharmacy Errors Across the Country

Each year, there are an estimated one million medication errors that occur throughout the United States. Of those patients that are provided with an inaccurate medication, about 7,000 will die each year. This makes prescription errors one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the country.