Lawsuit claims Houston woman died after pharmacy gave wrong meds
http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Lawsuit-claims-Houston-woman-died-after-pharmacy-6743088.php
The son of a Houston woman alleges his mother died when a local pharmacy filled her prescription with a high dosage of the wrong medicine, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Harris County court.
Lee “Mama Esther” Hudson, died in December 2013 at age 82 in Houston, burial records show. The lawsuit was filed by her son, Gary Fosha, 49.
According to court documents, on Oct. 28, 2013 Hudson went to the Walgreens pharmacy at 5202 Almeda Road to fill a prescription for 75 mg per day of hydroxyzine, an antihistamine used to treat itching, issued by her physician.
Upon taking the wrong prescription, Hudson lost blood pressure, suffered kidney failure and was hospitalized on life support until her death on Dec. 14.
Maria Wormington, attorney for Fosha, said, “There is no dispute that the pharmacy misfilled the prescription at issue. However, I do not yet have the expert review back that would further describe how this misfill was a proximate cause of the damages alleged.”
Walgreens declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence on the pharmacy’s behalf and demands damages between $250,000 and $1 million.
Filed under: General Problems
Don’t pharmacists in Texas have a legal responsibility to talk to patients prior to handing over the product, or do the techs just ask the patient if they have any questions and then have the patient sign a release form. A simple counselling session would have caught the error.