Compound Pharmacy Sued For Negligence
Have you ever heard of a compound pharmacy? Can you guess what it does? Chances are good that unless you need a specialty medication, you wouldn’t know what a compound pharmacy is. Compound pharmacies create special drugs that are not available on the market to meet the unique needs of individual patients. It is expensive to get your drugs like this. That is why you are most likely to have heard about compound pharmacies in the context of medical insurance fraud. In many cases, doctors will have kickback relationships with compound pharmacies to drive up the costs of medical care and extract as much lucre from the patient’s insurance as they possibly can.
Now, compound pharmacies are in the news again, this time for injuring a patient who was taking the hair-growth drug Finasteride Plus. The patient fell ill days after a recall was announced by the drug company Masterpharm. The company combined or “compounded” Finasteride with minoxidil, another hair growth medication.
Are compound pharmacies bad?
No. In fact, they help a lot of people with unique conditions take fewer pills to treat those conditions. But since the drugs are made to order, there are issues that can occur like contamination that would result in injury to customers. The biggest problem with compound pharmacies is their role in perpetuating health care fraud. While not all compound pharmacies are bad actors, they charge a lot more than you would pay if you were taking the two or more drugs separately. In cases where an individual needs to take a medication but may be allergic to one of the ingredients, the compound pharmacy can create a unique version of the medication that helps them without hurting them. Compound pharmacies are a major part of the health care industry and help fill prescriptions that would otherwise be impossible.
Is this compound pharmacy liable?
From the sound of it, the pharmacy mixed the drugs in the wrong dosages giving the patient too much minoxidil which caused temporary or permanent injury. The amount of damages the plaintiff will recover will depend on how extensive his injuries were. However, since the pharmacy mixed the drug in the wrong dosages, the compound pharmacy is responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries, so long as they exist. Medical records and more will determine the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries.
As of now, the only drugs that have been recalled are the Finasteride Plus made by one specific pharmacy for having too much minoxidil in it. It is unclear how many individuals were impacted by the mistake. Thus far, this is the only lawsuit that has been filed since the recall was announced.
Talk to a Miami Personal Injury Attorney Today
The Miami personal injury attorneys at the office of Alan Goldfarb, P.A. file lawsuits on behalf of individuals who have been injured due to the negligence of another person or company. Call today to schedule a free consultation and we can begin determining your next moves immediately.
Source:
lawstreetmedia.com/news/health/masterpharm-compounding-pharmacy-sued-for-drug-negligence/
