Recently, a state appellate court issued an opinion addressing whether pharmacies can be responsible to a third-party when the third-party suffers injuries as a result of the pharmacy’s negligence. The court discussed complex third-party liability issues that may affect Maryland car accident victims. In this case, the pharmacy technician negligently…
Hospitals often refer to tragedies that should not happen in a medical setting as “never events.” These may include patients dying during routine procedures or major medication errors. Saying that they should not happen does not mean that they do not, unfortunately, and few resources are available to track just…
Police in Maryland have arrested a Reisterstown pharmacist. They are accusing Ketankumar Arvind Patel of illegally selling over 23,000 prescription pills. Authorities say that this amount is equal to almost 28,000 pounds of marijuana or 63 kilograms of cocaine. Federal charges have been filed against the 47-year-old. In the six-count…
This week, pharmacist Eric Cropp pleaded no contest to an involuntary manslaughter charge involving the death of a two-year-old patient in 2006. The toddler, Emily Jerry, died after she was administered an overdose of sodium chloride while undergoing chemotherapy at a hospital. Cropp made the fatal pharmacy error while working…
US pharmacists filled 3.8 billion prescriptions in 2007. This increase in pharmacy prescriptions—up from 3.3 billion in 2002—means that pharmacists are busier than ever. According to pharmacy owner Paul Lofholm, his pharmacists can fill up to 100 prescriptions a shift. According to SmartMoney, the busy workload is creating a number…
Prescription errors are a prevalent problem in the United States that too often leads to serious injuries and deaths. A USA Today investigation reports that corporate policies—particularly with the larger pharmacy chains, such as CVS and Walgreens—can lead to unnecessary pharmacy mistakes: •Too many prescriptions, too few pharmacists. Long shifts…
A couple is suing Walgreens for wrongful death. The Missouri couple is claiming that the woman miscarried her baby because a Walgreens pharmacy accidentally gave her a chemotherapy drug instead of the prenatal vitamin that a doctor had prescribed her. Instead of being given the prenatal vitamin Materna, a Walgreens…
The family of Keith Scofield, a Frederick man who died 20 days after being sold the wrong drug for diabetes at a local Wal-Mart, is suing the retail chain for $50 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The documents were filed in Frederick County Circuit Court on December 1. According…