Need Legal Advice

[SDogo]

My wife transferred her prescription to a CVS pharmacy 2 days ago. The pills she received looked nothing like her prior ones but at first I did not think twice about it. Then I stated reading the bottle and the pill description on the bottle did not match what the pill looked like and the numbers imprinted on the pill were different.

When she took them she had a weird reaction so today she calls the pharmacy and they admit they gave her the wrong medication and now they want us to bring them back so they can give us the right ones.

Uh, do they think I'm just going to hand over those pills and forget their screw up so they can hide it?

My wife is on several medications any EVERYTHING she takes right down to cold medicine has to be cleared with her DR and closely monitored. She has had two sleepless night with what can almost be considered seizures where she would have bouts of uncontrollable shaking.

What would you do? Any lawyers here with some good advice?

 

[Signals]

Wow, incredible. I have a friend that might be able to help. Here's the story behind how we met.

I walked into a bar and saw a beautiful, well-dressed woman sitting on a bar stool alone. When I sat down and said ''Hi", she turned and looked me in the eye and said "Before you say anything else, I just want you to know I'll screw anybody any time, any where, any place, it doesn't matter to me."

Nothing happened that night, but she has been my lawyer ever since.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

What would you do? Any lawyers here with some good advice?

That happened to me once, but I'm pretty sure there's very little liability on the pharmacy's end. Especially since no one was really adversely affected.

The argument is, the responsibility is ultimately the consumer's to check and recheck, that what their taking is what was prescribed.

 

[Hostile]

Wow, incredible. I have a friend that might be able to help. Here's the story behind how we met.

I walked into a bar and saw a beautiful, well-dressed woman sitting on a bar stool alone. When I sat down and said ''Hi", she turned and looked me in the eye and said "Before you say anything else, I just want you to know I'll screw anybody any time, any where, any place, it doesn't matter to me."

Nothing happened that night, but she has been my lawyer ever since.

I loved that.

SDogo, you can talk to a lawyer, but unless there is actual damage done, they won't tell you much. You're probably better off talking to a Manager at the pharmacy about what they can do to make it right.

 

[daschoo]

without meaning to cause offence in my opinion this is americas most widely recognised contribution to humanity.
i absolutely despise the blame and suing culture that in my opinion started in your country and if you do follow this through its a classic example. dont get me wrong america has many positive influences on the world and this post isn't meant as an attack on your nation as personally i like it.
accidents happen, they're horrific sometimes but as scary as this one was it was rectified - thankfully before any damage was done - so in my opinion thats all it is. an accident.
and just to clarify sdogo i'm not trying to belittle the fear/anger you must have experianced, rather the desire to make a buck (which i'm not accusing you of) that seems to be the current day reaction as soon as anything untoward happens

 

[Hoofbite]

Isn't a minor thing by any means but I just don't think there's much that can be done.

At some point someone is going to ask why she took the pill if it looked odd and why she wasn't taken to the hospital when she looked to be having a seizure.

 

[SDogo]

It's not at all about money, the other pharmacy we talked to clearly stated that the pills they gave us are stricly prohibited to be mixed with the medications my wife is taking for a heart condition.

Am I pissed, Yes but I'm not looking for a lawsuit. I'm looking to be compensated for the time spent at the hospital, the bill I'm sure to get and time missed from work.

I dont think we need to go to court to accomplish this but I'm also not going to let it get swept under a rug.

 

[SDogo]

Isn't a minor thing by any means but I just don't think there's much that can be done.

At some point someone is going to ask why she took the pill if it looked odd and why she wasn't taken to the hospital when she looked to be having a seizure.

Well pills can look different depending on manufacturer, thats not uncommon and with the type of medication my wife takes it's something we have dealt with before.

AS far as the hospital, we did but I did not put it in my original post so thats my fault.

 

[Hostile]

It's not at all about money, the other pharmacy we talked to clearly stated that the pills they gave us are stricly prohibited to be mixed with the medications my wife is taking for a heart condition.

Am I pissed, Yes but I'm not looking for a lawsuit. I'm looking to be compensated for the time spent at the hospital, the bill I'm sure to get and time missed from work.

I dont think we need to go to court to accomplish this but I'm also not going to let it get swept under a rug.

Then at least call a lawyer.

 

[TheCount]

I am sure there are worse places to ask for legal advice but none come to mind just this second.

Call a lawyer, and not one from the Yellow Pages.

Glad to hear your wife wasn't more adversely affected. If you have damages, be prepared to present proof.

Did you ever find out what those pills were?

 

[SDogo]

Then at least call a lawyer.

I did, a friend in NY. Just got off the phone with him. It took him 1 call.

Just got back from the Pharmacy with a $50 gift card, refund on the prescription, all kinds of apologies from the Manager, the District Manager and the Regional Manager as well as a call from the legal department at CVS who are meeting with my lawyer tomorrow to work out an agreement to cover the remaining balance of my medical bills from the Hospital.

Did not ask for a dime more, my friend made it clear what we wanted and CVS was more then happy to offer it. From my understanding, considering the medication they gave her we could of taken it much further if we wanted to.

On a side note, I made it very clear to the Regional Manager that I did not want the Pharmacist to lose his job. He is human, mistakes are made but I did think it was important the whole staff needs to be addressed and made again to understand the importance of their job to the public and that had this been a elderly person or someone who may not have done their research the results could of been much different.

 

[SDogo]

Did you ever find out what those pills were?

Warfarin which is not cool for someone already taking Beta Blockers and medicine to manage over active thyroids.

 

[kapolani]

without meaning to cause offence in my opinion this is americas most widely recognised contribution to humanity.
i absolutely despise the blame and suing culture that in my opinion started in your country and if you do follow this through its a classic example. dont get me wrong america has many positive influences on the world and this post isn't meant as an attack on your nation as personally i like it.
accidents happen, they're horrific sometimes but as scary as this one was it was rectified - thankfully before any damage was done - so in my opinion thats all it is. an accident.
and just to clarify sdogo i'm not trying to belittle the fear/anger you must have experianced, rather the desire to make a buck (which i'm not accusing you of) that seems to be the current day reaction as soon as anything untoward happens

You don't mess around with medication.

I was a medic in the military. All kinds of bad juju can happen if you give the wrong meds. Death being the most severe.

OP I see that things were taken care of. I would have sued the living hell out of them though.

I have one rule. Don't do anything that can harm my family. You cross that line I will hunt you down. My God is the God of the old testament - 'An eye for an eye.'

 

[Bob Sacamano]

You don't mess around with medication.

I was a medic in the military. All kinds of bad juju can happen if you give the wrong meds. Death being the most severe.

OP I see that things were taken care of. I would have sued the living hell out of them though.

I have one rule. Don't do anything that can harm my family. You cross that line I will hunt you down. My God is the God of the old testament - 'An eye for an eye.'

I doubt the pharmacist had an intent to harm this guy's wife.

 

[kapolani]

I doubt the pharmacist had an intent to harm this guy's wife.

I agree completely.

But, the fact of the matter is he/she screwed up.

If you screw up in that line of work someone could die.

Attention to detail. That's why when you count pills you check, double check, and triple check that the right medication is going out. You also should have a patient history of meds to make sure there are no contraindications.

You don't just say 'aw shucks, my bad' when you F up.

The same with hanging blood. You make absolutely sure by having someone come behind you and check that you are pushing the right blood or meds.

In this case - hunting down would be making sure the person and those responsible don't just get a slap on the wrist. It's imperative that they know how big a deal this type of screw up is.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

It's not at all about money, the other pharmacy we talked to clearly stated that the pills they gave us are stricly prohibited to be mixed with the medications my wife is taking for a heart condition.

Am I pissed, Yes but I'm not looking for a lawsuit. I'm looking to be compensated for the time spent at the hospital, the bill I'm sure to get and time missed from work.

I dont think we need to go to court to accomplish this but I'm also not going to let it get swept under a rug.

file your complaint/writ/whatever they call it in your state and wait for the insurer to offer you money, even if it is just a nuisance value of 5-10000, you will have paid for your time off work and hassle/fear you felt as your wife had violent seizures and was near death.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

You don't mess around with medication.

I was a medic in the military. All kinds of bad juju can happen if you give the wrong meds. Death being the most severe.

OP I see that things were taken care of. I would have sued the living hell out of them though.

I have one rule. Don't do anything that can harm my family. You cross that line I will hunt you down. My God is the God of the old testament - 'An eye for an eye.'

that will do a lot of good

 

[kapolani]

that will do a lot of good

It was more used as a figure of speech.

Meant to infer that I would pursue any means to make sure the mistake this pharmacist made isn't just an 'aw shucks, my bad' moment.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

there is only one way to make them pay, sue their sorry *****

 

[burmafrd]

well it would make sure that that particular person never screwed up again since its kind of hard to screw up once you are dead.