Franklin Gray and White Blog

Medication Mix Ups Can Be Deadly

Do you know the difference between Zyrtec and Zantac?  The two medications are spelled similarly, but have vastly different purposes.  There have been numerous cases of medications being mixed up because of similar spellings and other reasons.

How big is the problem of medication errors?  According to the latest figures, almost 1.5 million people are impacted by medication mistakes in U.S. hospitals every year.  These drug errors involve incorrect dosages, bad drug interactions, drug allergies, doctor errors, pharmacist errors and hospital mistakes.

Patients have been harmed when their doctors confuse the names of drugs and prescribe the wrong medication.  There have also been cases of pharmacists incorrectly reading the doctors’ writing on the prescription slip.

Who is responsible for these potentially deadly drug errors?  Depending on the circumstance of the prescription error, the medical provider may be held responsible.  If you have been injured and believe that medical malpractice may have been involved, you need to contact a medical malpractice lawyer in Louisville at the law office of Franklin, Gray & White at 1-502-637-6000 or 1-800-637-6033.  You may be entitled for compensation for your injuries.

Wal-Mart Sued Over Alleged Drug Mislabeling

After collapsing on a bus, victim Geraldine Schamanski's heart stopped five times in 24 hours. Her family was told two different times that she had died, said Yuba City attorney Nancy A. Southworth, who filed the lawsuit Friday on behalf of Schamanski and her husband, Raymond.

Besides Wal-Mart, the pharmacist and Asereth Medical Services are named as defendants. The latter company apparently supplied the pharmacist who mislabeled the bottle, said Southworth.

Michelle Bradford, a spokeswoman at Wal-Mart's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, said company officials had not yet been served with papers in the case and could not comment.

Aside from a blood pressure problem, Schamanski was in "very good" health for a woman in her 70s before the pill mix-up. But if she had died from the overdose, the death probably would have been attributed to old age, said Southworth.

According to the lawsuit, Schamanski was taking two generic medications in early 2008 — nadolol, which is a beta blocker, and furosemide, a diuretic. The pharmacist gave Schamanski a pill bottle labeled furosemide that actually contained nadolol, causing her to take 80mg per day of nadolol instead of 40mg.

Schamanski collapsed after taking the double dose for at least six weeks. She "died" once in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, said Southworth."

The law firm of Franklin Gray & White repesents victims of medical malpractice, including medication errors.  If your family has been the victim of a medication error, please contact, or email, the experienced attorneys of Franklin Gray & White for your free consultation.

Franklin Gray & White

The Speed Mansion

505 West Ormsby Avenue

Louisville, Kentucky 40203

Tel: (502) 637-6000

Toll-Free: (800) 637-6033

Fax: (502) 637-1413

email: mwhite@franklingrayandwhite.com