When people pick up prescriptions at their local pharmacy, they have a reasonable amount of confidence that the medication they receive is the correct one. It only takes one typographical error or one decimal place moved incorrectly to cause serious injury or even death. A Houston family is now suing their local pharmacy over the death of a 6-year-old girl who allegedly was given 10 times the amount of morphine she was supposed to receive. The girl died from an accidental overdose of morphine.
The young girl suffered from sickle cell anemia and had been prescribed morphine on and off for most of her life to manage the pain she endured. At the time of the death, she had a prescription for 15 milligrams per dose of the drug. However, according to the wrongful death lawsuit the family filed, the prescription was actually filled for 150 milligrams per dose.
The girl's mother said she had been taking her prescriptions to the pharmacy for a decade and never experienced a problem. However, now she is left to grapple with the loss of a child because, she says, the pharmacy was negligent. While no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of her girl, the woman says she hopes the suit will prevent future errors from happening.
Medication errors happen frequently, probably more often than people realize. People who have suffered harm as a result of negligence on the part of a pharmacist, doctor or other health care professional may wish to consult with an experienced attorney to determine what options they have.
Source: KTRK-TV, "Lawsuit claims wrong pharmacy prescription led to six-year-old girl's overdose death," Jessica Willey, Aug. 21, 2013
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