Plaintiff alleges switch of medication by pharmacy – $125,000 Verdict

On June 11, 2005, the plaintiff filled two prescriptions at the pharmacy at the Ukrop’s grocery store in Williamsburg. The medications were apparently switched and over the summer, while he thought he was taking his thyroid replacement hormone medication, plaintiff was actually taking a different drug. His condition deteriorated over the summer and ultimately resulted in a hospitalization in September of 2005. He spent three days in the hospital but returned to baseline over the next several months.

The case was considered a no-liability case from the beginning by Wausau, Ukrop’s insurer. The defendant’s view was that there was no evidence that they had switched the drugs (The plaintiff had taken all of the medication by September, so there was nothing left in the bottle at that time).
The position of Ukrop’s throughout the case was that plaintiff was simply careless during the summer and did not take his medicine as prescribed, which ultimately led to his declining condition.

The case was ordered to mediation, which was conducted by Judge Randolph West. He told the plaintiff and the defendant that the case had no value. Ultimately, Ukrop’s made a token cost of defense offer of $10,000 at the mediation. At that time, the plaintiff was willing to settle the case for $18,000.

The case was tried and the defense was twofold: (1) We didn’t make a mistake, and (2) If we made a mistake, the plaintiff was contributorily negligent because either he didn’t take his pills as prescribed, or he should have recognized that the pills were mixed up because they were not the same color as his previous prescriptions.

The jury ultimately returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $125,000.

[10-T-015]

Type of action: Personal injury
Injuries alleged: Complications from the wrong medication
Name of case: David Doody v. Ukrop’s Super Markets Inc.
Court: Williamsburg Circuit Court
Case #: CL08-598
Tried before: Jury
Name of judge: Joseph Leafe
Special damages: $14,020.59
Verdict or Settlement: Verdict
Amount: $125,000
Date: Feb. 2, 2010
Demand: $18,000
Highest offer: $10,000
Expert: Dr. Katherine Roberts
Insurance carrier: Wausau
Plaintiff’s attorney: Robert J. Haddad, Virginia Beach