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JANET N.
MILLER AND RICHARD C. MILLER
v.s.
DRUG EMPORIUM, INC. AND JAMES T. GARLAND
Fulton County State Court
Civil Action File No. 273637
Liability Facts: On September 9, 1988, plaintiff
went to the Drug Emporium pharmacy located at 119
Cobb Parkway in Marietta, Georgia to pick up a
prescription for Talwin, a drug for migraine
headaches, that her physician had phoned in the day
before. At that time the pharmacy gave her a
prescription instead for Tenex, a drug used to treat
high blood pressure. A pharmacy employee had
erroneously paced the Tenex tablets into a
prescription bottle marked for Talwin and the
pharmacist in charge neglected to check it before it
was passed on to the plaintiff. The recommended
daily dosage for Talwin in 2 mg. Per day. The
recommended daily dosage for Tenex is 1 mg. per day
and has known listed side effects including
shortness of breath. Plaintiff ingested eight Tenex
tablets over the next four days and began
experiencing dizziness, vertigo, shortness of breath
and fatigue. Plaintiff, a 32-year-old registered
nurse, was initially diagnosed as suffering
bronchospasm and bronchial hyper-reactivity. Despite
the average elimination half-life of Tenex being 17
days, plaintiff’s health continued to deteriorate
over the following months and she was eventually
diagnosed as having developed a drug induced asthma
condition as well as chronic fatigue syndrome which
rendered her totally disabled. Plaintiff had no
prior history of respiratory problems.
Plaintiff initially alleged professional negligence
on the part of the pharmacist on duty as well as the
pharmacy under respondeat superior. During discovery
it was learned that the pharmacist who was
responsible for misfiling the plaintiff’s
prescription had previously been convicted for
violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act
and suffered temporary license suspension by the
Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Plaintiffs amended their
Complaint to add a count of negligent hiring and
retention against the corporate defendant.
Injury facts: Drug induced asthma, chronic fatigue
syndrome and depression.
Medical Expenses: Past medical expenses of
approximately $14,000.00
Loss of Earnings: Past wage loss of approximately
$90,000.00
Expert Witnesses for the Plaintiff: John Gelly,
M.D., Internist; David Tinkleman, M.D.,
Pulmonologist; Cornelius Sullivan, M.D.
Pulmonologist; James O’Donnell, Pharm. D.,
Pharmacologist; Steven Wilson, Pharm. D.,
Pharmacologist; Robert McGuigan, Ph.D., Vocational
Rehabilitation; Richard Cebula, Ph.D.,
Economist.Expert Witnesses for the Defendants - Ben
Branscomb, M.D., Internist; Jack Hasson, M.D.,
Pulmonologist; Neil Moran, Pharm. D.,
Pharmacologist.Settlement - Following a court
supervised pre-trial settlement conference, the
parties agreed to a cash settlement of $850,000.00
Attorneys:
Defendants were represented by Wray Eckl and
Elizabeth Helm of Drew, Eckl and Farnham, Atlanta.
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