The plaintiff filled two prescriptions at the pharmacy at the grocery store. The medications were apparently switched and over the summer, while he thought he was taking his thyroid replacement hormone medication, he was actually taking a different drug.

He deteriorated over the summer and ultimately was hospitalized in September 2005. He required three days of hospitalization.

The defendant maintained that there was no evidence that the pharmacy had switched the drugs since the plaintiff had taken all of the medication dispensed.

The defendant maintained that the plaintiff did not take his medication as prescribed.

Mediation resulted in a determination that the case had no value. A $10,000 offer by the defendant was refused.

The defendant’s arguments at trial were that the pharmacy did not make an error and that the plaintiff should have recognized that the pills were mixed up because they were not the same color as his previous prescriptions.

According to a published account a $125,000 verdict was returned.

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.