In a previous post about a pharmacist from England that was charged criminally for dispensing the wrong medication, I boldly stated:
"In the United States it is highly unlikely that this type of pharmacy mistake would
lead to such an extreme reaction. Simply put, such negligent conduct does not
warrant criminal charges."
Technically, I was not wrong because I stated it was "highly unlikely". However, such criminal prosecutions do in fact occur in the United States. For example, Eric Cropp, a Hospital Pharmacist, was recently charged criminally for his role in the overdose death of 2 year-old Emily Jerry. According to Cleavland.com, Eric Cropp is about to plead no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter.
The pharmacy malpractice occurred when a pharmacy technician in the hospital pharmacy improperly mixed a solution with 23% saline instead of 1% saline. According to Cleavland.com, the pharmacy tech actually pointed out to Eric Cropp, the supervising pharmacist, that she thought there was something wrong with the mixture. Instead of investigating, Cropp dismissed her concerns and told her to have the medicine delivered anyway.
In most states, involuntary manslaughter occurs when someone that did not intend to cause death, acted so recklessly in causing someone else's death that they should have known it would cause death. It appears that the reckless conduct in this case that lead to criminal charges stem from three basic facts. The first fact is that the overdose of saline was so high that even a marginally competent pharmacist would know that such a high dose, 23 times higher than what was ordered, would kill a child. The second fact is that Cropp was specifically warned that something was potentially wrong with the medicine and he failed to investigate. The third fact is that the little girl died from the prescription error.
Scott Distasio
Florida Pharmacy Malpractice Lawyer
DISTASIO LAW FIRM
HELPING INJURED PEOPLE
OFFICES: TAMPA
888-595-0022
