Man Dies After Pharmacist Delivers Wrong Prescription

A man died from multiple organ failure after a pharmacy delivered the wrong prescription to him, according to the Daily Mail.

Edlie Masters, 83, of Birmingham, England, was supposed to receive acetaminophen to treat pain caused by an ulcer on his feet, but he was instead given Verapamil, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, according to the Daily Mail. At the time, Masters was also taking medications to treat a kidney condition.

After a delivery driver for the pharmacy received no answer at Masters’ home, a pharmacist named Matthew Hurcomb decided to drop off Masters’ prescription on his way home from work. However, Hurcomb inadvertently picked up the wrong prescription, the Daily Mail reported.

Masters then took the Verapamil tablets without looking at the packaging.

Hurcomb later realized he made a mistake and drove over to Masters’ home to reassure him he would not experience an adverse effect related to the drug, but after a few hours passed, Masters experienced shortness of breath and was taken to a hospital.

The hospital tried to figure out what Masters had taken, but the pharmacy did not have the information because Hurcomb did not log the mistake, according to the Daily Mail.

Five days later, Masters died due to the interaction between Verapamil and the medication he took for his kidney condition.

“Mr. Masters' death was avoidable and highlights the importance of following basic medical practices and procedures,” a lawyer representing the family told the Daily Mail.

A lecturer in clinical pharmacy at the University of Birmingham commented that pharmacists follow certain procedures to ensure the correct drugs are given to the right person.

“Obviously, occasionally there are errors with medication,” Anthony Cox told the Daily Mail. “This particular type of mistake I would hope would not be too common. Pharmacists are taught early about the importance of getting the right drugs to the right patients at the right time.”

Hurcomb has referred himself to the General Pharmaceutical Council, according to the Daily Mail.