Pharmacy Error Injury Lawyer Blog
In recent news that our Baltimore, Maryland Pharmacy Error Attorneys have been following, an appeals court has upheld a decision in favor of the family who was awarded $33.3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Deane Hippely, who died in 2007 after a Walgreens Pharmacy technician reportedly made an error in her prescription medication that was treating her breast cancer.
According to the lawsuit, Beth Hippely, a mother of four children from Lakeland, Florida, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, and was given an 88 percent chance of a full recovery. Her recovery treatment plan included chemotherapy, radiation and prescription drugs.
One of the drugs that Hippley was given to treat her breast cancer was a 1 milligram tablet of Warfarin, a blood thinner. When Hippely took her prescription for Warfarin to be filled at the local Walgreens she was mistakenly given 10 milligrams of the drug, by a teenage pharmacy technician who reportedly had little experience.
After a few weeks of taking the wrong dosage of medication, the pharmacy error reportedly caused Hippley to suffer from a stroke, resulting in a brain hemorrhage that caused her personal injury, physical pain and paralysis, forcing her to stop her necessary cancer treatments. She died in January of 2007 before the lawsuit went to trial.
Walgreens appealed the lower court’s decision from August of 2007, and last month, the 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favor or the lower court’s previous ruling. According to ABC News, the judgment against Walgreens for prescription error was the largest of its kind.
ABC News reports that there is currently no minimum national standard for the pharmacy training for technicians who are supposed to work with licensed pharmacists under close supervision.
At Lebowitz & Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, our attorneys are committed to making sure that pharmacy error victims and their loved ones receive the personal injury compensation they deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Walgreens to Pay $33 Million in Deadly Prescription Mix-Up, Fox News, March 02, 2010
Court Upholds $33 Million Award to Mulberry Family, The Ledger.com, March 01, 2010
Walgreens Told to Pay $25.8 Million Over Teen Pharmacy Tech’s Error, ABC World News, March 01, 2010
Related Web Resources:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Medication Error Reports
Institute for Safe Medication Practices, (ISMP)