Robber blames doctor and pharmacist for crimes, sues them for $49,000
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/08/robber_claims_she_wasnt_hersel.html
A 46-year-old woman who donned a ski mask and wielded a fake gun when she robbed a Southeast Portland bookstore has filed a $49,000 lawsuit against her doctor and pharmacist, claiming they gave her a dangerous mix of prescription drugs that caused her to spiral out of control.
The lawsuit filed by Hilary Leah Bishop is virtually unheard of in criminal justice and medical circles: Convicted felons rarely if ever sue their medical providers for the crimes they’ve committed.
Bishop is serving a three-year prison sentence at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville for robbing Wallace Books on Southeast Milwaukie Avenue in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood on Aug. 15, 2016. She also was convicted of robbing Clogs-N-More on Hawthorne Boulevard the previous day.
Police said Bishop also was a suspect in a robbery at Palio Dessert and Espresso House on Southeast Ladd Avenue a week earlier. She wasn’t convicted of that crime, but a plea deal forbade her from having any contact with that business.
At the time of the heists, Bishop was a divorced mother of a 14-year-old daughter who shared custody with her ex-husband. In the past she worked as a licensed practical nurse and a licensed massage therapist. She told authorities that she’d been diagnosed with depression.
Bishop’s lawsuit claims her naturopathic doctor, Vanessa Esteves, and an unidentified pharmacist for Safeway prescribed and dispensed to her the mind-altering combination of drugs a few days before police say she frightened employees at the shoe store and bookstore and made off with the cash.
A message seeking comment from Esteves and the Pearl District clinic where she works, Oregon Integrated Health, wasn’t returned. Jill McGinnis, a Safeway spokeswoman, declined comment.
Bishop also is suing Tiffany McClean, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who worked at the same clinic as Esteves. McClean couldn’t be reached for comment.
According to Bishop’s lawsuit, she was prescribed a long list of drugs, including duloxetine and tramadol. The pair can lead to a rare but serious drug interaction, causing hallucinations, confusion and other symptoms, according to the website drugs.com. Bishop claims she experienced a “euphoria” and a “dissociative state.”
An August 2016 piece by Oregonian columnist Steve Duin said that Bishop’s friends were shocked by her robberies. Bishop’s ex-husband, Dewey Mahood, described the book-loving Bishop as the “most peaceful, animal-loving vegetarian” and “very anti-gun.”
Mahood also said his ex used to live four blocks from Clogs-N-More and it was her favorite store.
A probable cause affidavit said Bishop was arrested after she bungled the Wallace Books hold-up by wearing all black and removing her ski mask as she exited the store in full view of a parole and probation officer who happened to be in the area. He immediately became suspicious and followed her to her Mitsubishi Mirage and jotted down the license plate.
Police who were on the lookout pulled her over half an hour later.
Court records show Bishop had been convicted once in a 2006 impaired driving incident. She was allowed to enter a treatment program and a judge dismissed the charge of driving while under the influence of intoxicants. But a misdemeanor reckless driving charge stuck. She had no other criminal history.
Lake Oswego attorney Jose Cienfuegos filed Bishop’s lawsuit Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. In addition to $49,000 for her pain and suffering stemming from her prison sentence, Bishop also is seeking a yet-to-be determined amount in lost wages.
Read the lawsuit here.
— Aimee Green
Filed under: General Problems
An updated version of the “Twinkie Defense”?
See this is what is/has happen’d ever since the law of,” informed consent,” ,,that stood for 300 years,,is now being willfully ignored by judges upon our Adults in this country..I have read soo many lawsuits suing this pharmaceutical,,or that pharma,,,When a adult chooses to not take their medicines as prescribed…Mixes w/other drug/alcohols etc..Now some will say,,well there is this study that shows changes to the brain,,which thee OPINION, OF A DOCTOR saids ,,that person/adult is not responsible for their own decision,,Well,,,where are all the VIDEOS,,OF THIS SO-CALL RESEARCH?????I mean there is no reason why these researchers can’t do a video of the research to prove their oipinions!!!Like what kind of cognitive questions were asked of this research victims to prove the opinion of the doctor that these medicines change your brain to the point u aren’t responsible for yourself anymore as an adult??I guess Washington d.c.,,the cdc,,hhs,,politicians,lawyers,shrinks and other doctor’s who make these claims,,we are suppose to just ,”trust,” their interpratation for their opiniojn???Well guess what,,I don’t trust their opinion on research,,,if there is no video attacjhed proving their opinion/conclusion.. When they stand to make a 800 %% financial increase of admissions into addiction warehouses,,or $$$ fropm selling suboxone,,via using s Merrill Lynch Financial advisor,to cover for there name,,,
Informed Consent stood for 300 years for a reason,,because it is right to hold adults responsible for their own actions,,,or u will get ever Tom Dick and corrupted governors’ for the $$$ sueing innocent people,ie doctors, pharmacist and pharmaceuticals’ companies for simple doing their job,,or answering to the supple and demand of BASIC economics,,maryw
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But, I do not see this case being won. She,already has a,record of abusing alcohol in 2006. Even if you are high. you are still responsible for your actions. She,was,also responsible for educating herself on her medications.
Suing the manufacturers,might have been a better route. But, if the information about the interactions has been published by the manufacturers. That case would not be successful either