Alabama Jury Awards $2.5M in Rite Aid Pharmacy Negligence Lawsuit

We’ve all seen the television commercials telling us that we can trust our local chain pharmacy (Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreen’s, etc.) as they always have our best interests at heart. It’s likely that a Montgomery County, Alabama woman did just that – much to her dismay when her Rite Aid pharmacist gave her the wrong medication which caused her to suffer severe physical and psychiatric injuries. With the help of her attorney, an Alabama jury awarded her $2.5 million. Unfortunately, her situation is not uncommon. In fact, pharmacy malpractice is much more common than most of us realize. An estimated 3 billion prescriptions are filled every year – and analysts say that a staggering 22 percent of those are filled incorrectly.

Rite Aid Pharmacy Lawsuit

This Montgomery County Alabama personal injury lawsuit involves a Montgomery County woman. According to news reports, Reva Tosh suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and was prescribed pain medication by her doctor. She had her prescription filled at Rite Aid. However, much to her surprise, she was given seven times the customary dosage of steroid dexamethasone – which is used to treat cancer – for a full month.

Reva started to feel the side effects of the drug soon after taking it and it wasn’t long until she developed Cushing’s Syndrome, an adrenal gland disorder which caused her to suffer physical injuries, mental disorders and eventually confined her to a wheelchair.

Once Reva, her husband Gerald and their doctor realized what had happened, the couple hired an Alabama personal injury lawyer and filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid. A jury awarded Reva $2 million in damages and also awarded her husband an additional $500,000 for loss of consortium – which is the loss of companionship and household services.

22% of Prescriptions Filled Incorrectly Every Year

Of the 3 billion prescriptions which are filled every year, it is estimated that a staggering 22 percent of those (66 million) may be filled incorrectly. According to a report on ABC’s news program, 20/20, investigators tracked the dispensing of drugs at America’s largest pharmacies in four states and found that 22 percent of prescriptions that were incorrectly filled by chain pharmacies – despite their claims of having technological safeguards in place to prevent mistakes from happening.

Pharmacy Malpractice

Thousands of pharmacy malpractice lawsuits are filed against pharmacies and their pharmacists every year. If you’ve been injured due to their negligence, contact an experienced personal injury attorney in your state to find out whether you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries such as lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering.