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Widow Sues Walgreens Over Man's Drug Overdose

POSTED: Friday, November 2, 2007

A woman who claims her 46-year-old husband died after overdosing on a prescription narcotic is suing the pharmacy that provided the pills.

Terry Paul was taking pain medications for leg and back pain when his doctors switched his medication to methadone, according to his wife, Pearl.

A few days later, she found her husband dead in the bathtub.

The lawsuit claims that a Walgreens pharmacist made a mistake, labeling the medication bottle "take four as needed ... for chronic pain." The drug should have been labeled "take four pills twice a day."

The medical examiner ruled that Terry Paul Smith died of methadone toxicity.

Pearl Paul said the medication bottle made no mention of any dosage limits.

Pearl Paul
Pearl Paul is suing Walgreens over the death of her husband, Terry.
"There are several different ways they should have caught it," according to Carl Scott Schuler, Paul's attorney. "And the only explanation I have is that they were going too fast."

When contacted by Channel 4, a Walgreens corporate spokeswoman issued the following statement:
"We take our responsibility to patients very seriously, which is why we've invested nearly $1 billion in the last decade on pharmacy safety systems, safety training and new technology. These investments have made prescription errors a rare occurrence, but when they do occur we handle the situation as fairly and compassionately as possible."

A Duval County jury will be asked to decide if Walgreens is at fault and should pay a settlement to the widow.

"I can't let the case go because people need to see he was real ... and he mattered to a group of people who loved him," Pearl Paul said. "And more than anything, that he was important, that he was vital; that he was our glue. There is nothing I wouldn't give to have him back."

The trial was scheduled to begin on Monday, but an appeals court on Friday ordered that the proceedings be put on hold until an issue involving whether Pearl Paul's children can be plaintiffs is settled.
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