Rite Aid Whacked With $2.5 Million Verdict Over Mis-filled Prescription

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), the struggling national pharmacy chain, was setback last week with a $2.5 million verdict in Montgomery County, Alabama for mis-filling a prescription of pain medication with a strong steroid.

In late 2006, a pharmacist for Rite Aid, and its wholly owned subsidiary Harco Drugs, mistakenly filled Reva Tosh's prescription of pain medication for rheumatoid arthritis with the powerful steroid Decadron.

Mrs. Tosh took large doses of the steroid for 28 days and developed Cushing's Syndrome, a disorder of the adrenal glands which caused her to suffer mental disorders and other physical ailments.

"The central issue at the trial was whether Mrs. Tosh's injuries and present condition were due to the effects of the steroid she was mistakenly given or due to the effects of her existing illness of rheumatoid arthritis," noted Attorney Greg Davis who along with Dan W. Taliaferro represented Mrs. Tosh and her husband, Gerald.  

Davis added, "Rite Aid gave her over seven times the customary dose of steroids for almost a month, causing Mrs. Tosh, who once had an active lifestyle, to suffer from severe physical ailments and psychiatric disturbances, and confining her to a wheelchair."

The jury, which deliberated for about three hours before returning its verdict, awarded Reva Tosh $2 million in compensatory damages for her injuries, and awarded her husband $500,000 for the loss of his wife's companionship and services.

Rite Aid Corporation operates its drugstores in 31 states across the country and in the District of Columbia. As of February 28, 2009, it operated 4,901 stores. In its stores, Rite Aid sells prescription drugs and an assortment of other merchandise, which it calls front-end products.

During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 (fiscal 2009), prescription drug sales accounted for 67.2% of its total sales.

SOURCE Law Office of Greg Davis