Comments (11) | Add a comment
Pharmacies not liable in case
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
Updated: Apr. 10, 2012 | 10:24 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court ruled 5-2 Thursday that eight pharmacies in Las Vegas cannot be sued for negligence in the death of a man killed by a motorist under the influence of prescription drugs purchased at their businesses.
Justices decided Nevada's pharmacy laws "are not intended to protect the general public from the type of injury sustained in this case."
Pharmacies do not have a legal duty to protect people injured by their customers, they stated.
"The duty (under state law) is to the person for whom the prescription was written, the pharmacy's customer, if anyone, and not for the general public's protection," stated the court in the majority opinion.
The decision upholds a ruling by District Judge Douglas Herndon who earlier dismissed the pharmacies from a lawsuit filed by the deceased man's family.
But in a footnote, the justices noted that the State Board of Pharmacy in 2006, after the death occurred, approved new regulations defining what steps pharmacists must take in filling prescriptions. Justices said they have not decided yet whether the new regulation makes pharmacists liable for damages when their customers injure others.
The case arose from a June 4, 2004, traffic accident in Las Vegas where Gregory Sanchez Jr., 21, was killed and Robert Martinez severely injured when they were struck by a vehicle driven by Patricia Copening.
Sanchez had stopped on U.S. Highway 95 to fix a flat tire. Martinez, a co-worker, arrived to help him. While transferring items to Martinez's vehicle, Copening's vehicle struck them both.
She was arrested for driving under the influence of controlled substances.
Sanchez's family and Martinez and his spouse filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Copening and several doctors.
In the course of the litigation, they learned that the state Prescription Control Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force in 2003 had written letters to pharmacies and doctors concerning Copening's drug use.
In a 13-month period, she obtained 4,500 hydrocodone pills at 13 different pharmacies.
The families then added Wal-Mart, Longs Drugs, Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Rite-Aid, Albertson's and Lam's Pharmacy to the lawsuit.
Hydrocodone is a frequently prescribed opiate-based drug used for cough suppression and pain relief.
But the court pointed out the letter did not require the pharmacies to stop filling valid prescriptions for Copening.
Justices said there is "no material difference" between pharmacists who dispense drugs and bartenders who provide customers alcohol.
Under the state's "dram shop" law, bartenders are not responsible for accidents caused by their alcohol-drinking customers.
Justices Michael Cherry and Nancy Saitta dissented.
Cherry said that in past cases the court has established a special relationship constituting a duty exists between "innkeeper-guest, teacher-student and employer-employee."
"The relationship between a pharmacy and a pharmacy customer should also be considered a special relationship," said Cherry, allowing the families to sue the pharmacies for negligence.
He stated that before filling prescriptions, pharmacists must review the customers' records and determine possible drug abuse and adverse side effects.
"If a pharmacist reasonably believes that a prescription for a controlled substance was not issued in the normal course of a professional's practice, a pharmacist is prohibited from filling the prescription" under state law, Cherry wrote.
Ruling for the pharmacies were Justices Hardesty, Mark Gibbons, Michael Douglas, Ron Parraguirre and Kris Pickering.
Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
When this goes to the Supreme court it will be overturned because the NV justices have no idea what goes on in the real world.
These people shop around for multiple doctors, use multiple pharmacies, and such to obtain their drugs. Due to privacy laws, it is very possible that doctors and pharmacists didn't know what prescriptions she had filled at other locations or from other doctors. The responsible person is the person, and none other. You can't have it both ways: Complete privacy of information, and then expect everyone to be able to know everything, especially when patients manipulate the system.
Interesting ruling. However, we must all take responsibility for our own actions and it is obvious this woman had no clue what her responsibility was. She was only interested in receiving her next "fix" as it was. I hope she is in prison and didn't get a slap on the wrist because some attorney came up with some "loophole" for her. How is it that a pharmacist could not see that this woman had had way to many prescriptions filled for this drug or drugs in general? Totally outrageous and I thought the system was developed to prevent citizens from "drug shopping" just as this woman had very obviously done. Pharmacy Board speak up and do something about this type of behavior. Protect the citizens of Las Vegas from this happening again.
how ridiculous can people be?!?! The pharmacies are now the "scape-goat" for the obvious resposible party...uhh... hmm... Colud it be, might it be, SHOULDNT it be THE DRIVER ?! (of the vehicle which struck and killed them) The pharmacies job is to FILL Rx's which were written by a licenced Doctor It's the patients responsibility to then follow the pharmacists directions/warnings pertaining to driving while taking such medications. What's next file a law suit against the car dealer ship who sold the person the car which ultimately killed 2 people?