Woman Claims Wrong Rx Curtailed Her Ability to Conceive

A woman is suing an Oregon pharmacist and technician for $680,000 for allegedly giving her the wrong medication, which has impacted her ability to conceive.

The lawsuit also states that employers Fred Meyer Inc and The Kroger Co are vicariously liable and responsible for the pharmacy workers’ alleged actions.

According to plaintiff Anna Bell, one or both of the unnamed pharmacy workers gave her a medication that did not match her prescription. Bell’s physician had prescribed clomiphene, which helps induce ovulation. Instead, the lawsuit alleges, Bell received “clomaprine,” which may have been a typo for clomipramine, an antidepressant used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Bell took a single dose of the alleged wrong medication and experienced a bad reaction. She sought help from ambulance companies, emergency medical personnel, physicians, surgeons, and hospitals, according to the lawsuit.

Some of the adverse effects Bell said she experienced were severe pain, shock to the nervous system, sleeplessness, fear, nausea, and balance issues.

Because of the experience, Bell said she also lost a grant for research, which affected her income.

The plaintiff had also been undergoing fertility treatments, which were disrupted by the incident.

“These treatments were ordered to be discontinued while plaintiff received medical treatment and have now significantly impacted her ability to conceive a child,” the lawsuit states.

Bell is now seeking $180,000 in economic damages and $500,000 in non-economic damages.

“By dispensing the improper and wrong medication to the plaintiff, defendants were negligent in their acts by unreasonably creating foreseeable risks to a protected interest of the kind of harm that plaintiff suffered, and by reason of their acts and omissions are liable for negligence,” the lawsuit states.