Another incident of a nationwide pharmacy chain drugstore, Walgreens, dispensing the wrong medication to a customer. This time, the medication error involved a baby’s prescription for hydrocortisone, but turned out to be the opiate painkiller, Oxycodone!
The baby’s father picked up what he thought was his son’s prescription, hydrocortisone, at the local neighborhood pharmacy, Walgreens. Ten minutes after the mother gave her 2-year-old son the pill she states he wasn’t looking like himself, and appeared drowsy and droopy. One family member stated he also developed a rash on his face after having the medication. The infant’s mother called 911 after noticing the name on the bottle was misspelled, and the prescription was for the opiate painkiller, Oxycodone, also known as Percocet. The 10 mg prescription was for another patient, with the same last name and first initial of the child.
The 2-year-old boy was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital, where he received two injections to counteract the drug, and wake him up. A few hours later, the baby boy was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he was held overnight. The father claims that when he returned to Walgreens and confronted the employees in the pharmacy of their medication error and that he was given the wrong medication, employees responded that he should bring the wrong medicine back to get it changed. The Walgreens pharmacy employees were not alarmed, and the upset father explained that his son was already in the hospital. Thereafter, the hospital notified Walgreens and they admitted to mixing up the prescription with another person’s.
According to the parents, their son appears to be doing fine, however, was terrified since he just went into cardiac arrest a few months prior. A spokeswoman for Walgreens apologized to the family for the pharmacy mistake when it dispensed the wrong medication. According to Walgreens’ spokesperson, the bottle of pain killers had mistakenly been dispensed, along with the toddler’s correct prescription. Like most Americans, including the baby’s mother, pharmacy customers assume the prescription they are given is the correct one.
When Walgreens or similarly large and profitable drugstore corporations fail to eliminate these types of preventable mistakes or malpractices, there can be dangerous and fatal consequences to the families who trust them to do their job. If you suspect that you or someone you care about may have suffered injuries due to a medication error and was given wrong medication or prescription, then you should contact the experienced and knowledgeable lawyers of Gray and White Law. Our law firm has represented the rights of Kentucky families, and helped to restore their losses, for decades. Our attorneys have been voted among the best throughout the Commonwealth and across the nation, and are ready to learn more about your case. Simply contact us at any time by toll-free at 1-888-450-4456 or by confidential e-mail for your free legal consultation today.