Date: 01-04-2005

Case Style: Allen Trach v. Thrift Drug

Case Number: Unknown

Judge: Alan M. Black

Court: Court of Common Pleas, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

Plaintiff's Attorney:

John P. Karoly Jr., Allentown, Pennsylvania

Defendant's Attorney:

Alan K. Cotler of Reed Smith LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Description:

Allen Trach sued Thrift Drug for negligently filling a prescription that caused Trach to go blind in 1995. The plaintiff claimed that a pharmacist's assistant at the Mountainville Shopping Center pharmacy in Allentown gave him Doxepin, a potent antidepressant, instead of an antibiotic for a sinus infection. Trach, then 47, lost sight in his right eye as a result of developing a type of glaucoma as a direct result of taking an overdose of the wrong medication.

Outcome: Plaintiff's verdict for $5 million with resulting remitter order granting the defendant a new trial if he refused to accept a judgment in the amount of $2 million.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Editor's Note: It has been estimated that one out of every 250 prescriptions filled in the United States is incorrect. Given that a pharmacy in a major city may fill 500 or more prescriptions every day, the number of errors made runs into the thousands every day. Fortunately, most of the errors are discovered and no harm is caused to the patient. Occasionally, however, the wrong medication can cause serious harm or death.