Potentially Deadly Accident Caused by Prescription Error
A potentially deadly crash could have been avoided had a pharmacy filled a prescription correctly. On March 20 Nesta DeRoy drove into an eight-by-ten foot plate-glass window. She had lost consciousness for 15 minutes. Two weeks prior to her accident she was complaining to friends, family and her doctor about feeling unwell and groggy. In early March, DeRoy went to a pharmacy to refill her prescription for blood-pressure medication. What was filled was two weeks worth of a sedative. Not only was the medication wrong, but it was filled with four times the strength commonly prescribed to people suffering anxiety and seizure disorders of which DeRoy did not suffer. She had unknowingly been given Clonazepam in place of her blood-pressure medication hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). Clonazepam works by slowing the activity of the central nervous system. Those prescribed the drug are advised not to engage in activities requiring mental alertness, judgment and physical coordination, such as driving. When she finally complained to the pharmacy about the error they offered her an insulting deal to pay her expenses as well as $2,000. The College of Pharmacists of British Columbia says it gets an average of 86 complaints a year over medication errors.
