Is the money you're receiving from Walgreens, going to bring your wife back? And, this is the first time you smiled?? Did you smile while your wife was alive?

That is so sad and Walgreens should be more responsible about who fills out prescriptions.

I stopped filling my prescription at Walgreen because their nasty personnel at a pharmacy in Phoenix. They treated me like I was a pest they wanted to get rid of and that was the first time I went there, meaning I just walked in to fill up a prescription passing by that city. They were so nasty that I even wrote to the corporation. I talked to the manager of that store and he was nastier than the employees. I wrote to the parent company and let them know my name and all the prescription I was getting there and informed them I was taking my business elsewhere. The sad thing is that one customer does not make a big difference on their market. However I have my right to deal with some one else and give my $3 to some one else.

Yes, about staffs. Both my wife and I have health issues, (we're older,) and we've had to change drug stores more than once in the past six years -- the well run stores in our neighborhood seem to have trouble competing with chains, and both my wife and have had perscriptions mis-filled at two chains.

We were not injured because we looked at our med's and realized they had made a mistake. Both errors were probably made by over-worked technicians, people who were likely very competent but run into the ground by companies ruled by the quest for profit.

Sigh...

Another chain didn't mis-file but they had a pharmacy manager who kept filling our meds for additional months, though we asked for one month only -- and our insurance supposedly won't pay for multi-month prescriptions. (We stopped shopping there altogether because of this.)

Maybe you were a pest. And that teenager should not be blamed for anything. All prescriptions have to go through a pharmacist. That poor teenager is going through hell for nothing. Blame the pharmacist.

The only thing I have to say for Wal-Greens is the fact that Coumadin, brand name or generic has the milligram strength printed plainly on the tablet, clear enough that anyone could read it including the patient plus the strength of coumadin brand or generic is a specific color as well. Wal-Greens is in error for filling wrong, but patient surely could have read the 10mg on the tablet, is almost as big as the tablet.

2 weeks ago, I found out that my medications were being filled by a tech; the pharmacist didn't come in until the afternoon. I was told this when I asked to speak with the pharmacist. Furthermore, I found out that medications are counted out by machine, and I was shorted 18 pills on one prescription and 2 on another, but they were so angry with me for asking for 2 more pills that they refused to fill the prescription. I am a diabetic, and I also found that 2 boxes of pen needles , one of which looked tampered with, contained 90 needles each, and this, Walgreen's blamed on ** , which makes diabetic supplies. I, too, will move to a place where there is a pharmacist. Another Walgreen's gave me the wrong insulin once, and I caught the error when I got home, and never used any. My diabetic doctor at OHSU said that the mistaken insulin could have killed me.

I won't get into everything that is wrong with the business of retail pharmacies, but being a former Walgreens technician I find it amazing that the technician is taking the fall for this. The training of retail technicians is pitiful, but this is the kind of mistake that should not happen. The Walgreens system, the system that prints your prescription label, and price, and links to the register, will not allow a technician to sell a prescription that a licensed pharmacist has not signed off on. There is more than one person at fault here, but I don't see any mention of the pharmacist's lack of diligence that signed off on this prescription.

for the user who asked if this is the first time the husband smiled ever, the article stated it was the first time the husband smiled in the three years his attorney had represented him. which means, of course, AFTER his wife had passed away. not a very cool comment, whoever you are.

Vicki says, "Is the money you're receiving from Walgreens, going to bring your wife back? And, this is the first time you smiled?? Did you smile while your wife was alive?" What a TRULY NASTY, COLD-HEARTED COMMENT!!! The family has probably racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and medical medical, and Walgreen's has caused the children the loss of their mother and the loss of a man's wife. No money can ever replace that. Have you never heard of punitive damages? How in the world can a company let a 19-year-old unqualified person fill a prescription? What if it had been YOUR mother? Would you be dancing in the streets at all that money? I doubt it.

What if the husband did it? The perfect murder with a big payoff.

If you think the family should or should not have sued Walgreen's, Vicki, the company needed a wake-up call. Should they go unpunished? I am glad the case turned out the way it did. You took a personal attack against a man you don't know...

Responding to Vicki:

No, Vicki, I'm sure he never, EVER, smiled while his wife was alive. Give me a break. What kind of question is that? I do believe the man's been under a little stress the past few years. Vivki, have you ever had to take care of a terminally ill loved one? It's heartbreaking. And, no the money won't bring his wife back, but it will help offset the sometimes huge amount of money required to take care of a person in her condition. Also, since she was a stay at home mom, maybe he can quit his job now and spend more time with his three motherless children. More power to ya, Mr. Hippely.

Vicki: What a nasty little mind you have. I assume, that for consistency, you will also criticize the next story where a family member smiles for the first time in years when someone who killed their wife goes to jail.

For a corporation, a heavy fine is the equivalent of going to jail.

It is too bad the corporate PR flacks have succeeded in convincing some people that it is a _bad_ thing when companies are punished with fines for doing things that would get individuals sent to jail for years ("Negligent Homicide" - AKA manslaughter).

Vicki, sort of a stupid question to ask isn't it? The money will allow him to now hire help to raise his children or to stay at home himself and provide the care they need. It will provide him funds to send his children to school. You seem to overlook the fact that these children did NOTHING but have their mother taken from them. The husband did NOTHING but have his wife taken from him. If a corporation prides itself on being a leader in this area and thru fault on their part, causes a life to be lost, shouldn't they pay enough to compensate the family as well as make it hurt them enough to make sure this doesn't happen again?

Do you think he was smiling at the amount of the award? Think again. I would be smiling knowing that the world now knows they were responsible for the death and that the payment will force them to ensure this doesn't happen again. I don't think he was smiling thinking the trade of his wife's life was worth the money he's going to receive.

I stopped filling prescriptions at Walgreens because of their rude and uncaring personnel and on one occasion they failed to fill the prescription and put an empty pill bottle in the bag. I know I should of checked but who knew that you had to make sure they even gave you the pills!! Walgreens has some work to do to improve their service. Perhaps this verdict will make them examine their practices and personnel and make some changes. But I doubt that they will.

As a former pharmacy tech at a Wal-Mart I can tell you that anyone with a clean police record can get a license (in Tennessee and in most states). I was given minimal training, although the actual part of filling a prescription isn't that difficult. The hardest part is reading the doctor's handwriting (seriously). The pharmacist is required to check our computer input to verify that we entered the proper drug, dosage, qty, etc. Then the script goes to a small handheld device where we would fill the script. We had to scan the drug bottle with the handheld device and if we grabbed the wrong bottle we couldn't proceed. After we filled it the pharmacist checked what we did.
The biggest probelm? Wal-Mart has a very high turn-over rate and they are constantly training tech's which is not good. But because Wal-Mart will not give most people full-time employment or benefits the turn-over is very high. Does Wal-Mart care though? No way!

this man deserves all that money! way to stick it to these corporate rats!

Hey vicki, what kind of ascenine comment is that, why don't you read the article again and note what it truly says, not what you want it to say. Idiots like you should be banned from commenting on anyone else's misfortune.

I have gotten wrong presciption at CVS, Walgreen and others. I have learn to read the insert( contents important information), check the "Pill Book" and ask QUESTIONS. My doctor prints the presciption out so they are easy to read.

This may not bring back the mother of these children or the wife of this husband but they did lose a big part of all of their lives & will affect them for the rest of their lives & this needs to affect all areas of the medical fields because we depend on these people to be responsible enough to depend on them. I am glad for the lawsuit. I don't believe in suing but too bad in this case Hooray!!!

The money won't bring his wife back but maybe it will force Walgreens to stop murdering their customers for profit

Walgreens in Washington State misfilled my perscriptions, treated me like I was an addict, and made our lives miserable while I was taking certain pain managment perscriptions. Maybe Walgreens should start trianing their employees how to be more sympathetic while ensuring better oversight of dispensed medications. Sensitivity training would go a long way, but I'll never return to their stores.

Walgreens in Mansfield Texas has the best service the clerks are very personable and the pharmacist is also availible for consult even when its busy. It's very sad that this women lost her life in Florida where the shop keepers could not take the time and bother to check the dosage. But my overall experience with Walgreens both in Texas and in California have always been pleasant and professional

Regardless, this woman should have been better educated on her medicine and noticed the HUGE 10 mg label on the pill itself before taking it.

And the $25.8 million that was awarded for punitive damages is a joke. Extremely excessive amount, it dosen't take that much to raise a family of three and he could get his lazy bum up and get a job.

I'm sorry to see what happened, but walgreens didn't kill her, cancer did. It's simply the blame game, and hey, they are now $25 million richer for it.

Thats the problem with all you people today, you all want something for nothing. Lawsuit this, lawsuit that. Get a life.

Since prescriptions are often messily written by doctors patients may not be aware of the exact dosage being prescribed for them. Most patients won't think they have to double check these things, and most don't understand what the markings on the pills mean. If a patient has HAD the medication before, then it is certainly possible they may catch it when pills look different, but not if it is not a regular medication, as is the case here.

Also, don't forget, this lady had been sick, chemotherapy is tough, and when you are feeling badly you may not be as observant as you might normally be.

The cancer killed her because she had to stop treatment for it due to this error, according to the article. While the amount awarded may seem like an extreme overcompensation at first glance, it is actually a reflection of the jury's message to the offender

You might be a little more understanding "Grief", had this all happened to you or a loved one.
The bottom line is that persons who are involved in any way with health care services need to be diligent and careful in their methods.

Greief: Apparently you've not experienced enough to understand human suffering. My father was admitted to a health facilty, after a major reconstructive surgery, with a broken leg pinned through his bones with four metal "halos" for recovery. The sugical hospital had to sned him to a recovery center that was "under his insureance" (another soapbox topic).
The center, blatently disregarding their OWN standards of practice-no open wounds in the therapy pool-the greedy still admitted him for care. He got no Doctor-mandated auquatic therapy; he rarely was moved from this bed; and later we discovered laid for 5 days without a sponge bath. (we, in hindsight, should have asked about the Doctor's Orders, but had faith the facility was following physician's direction).
His recovery, due to lack of therapy, so retarded in the 3 weeks until his next Dr's appt, the doc immediately pulled him from the facilty citing negligence. And directly due to this incident, he never walked again...died within a year.
Lawsuit? The doctor fairly well gave us the name of a lawyer. Settlement covered most of the outstanding medical bills, with a bit for living expenses since I had to take off a year from work.
And, smile, no. Not yet...and it's been over four years. The tears of "grief" over a preventable, pre-mature death were not swept into a smile with greenbacks as tissue.

I take EffexorX,, a anti-anxiety/depression drug. When I had it filled at Walgreens, I had bad side effects right away. The drug is in in a pink gray/pink capsle and stamped with dosage and the Effexor name. I had been tappering down for about 2 years and was at the .75mil dosage. I had been on this dosage for 1 year before I gotten my drugs from walgreens. The side effects were the same as if I hadn't taken any. Very dizzy, horrible headaches, vertigo problems, slower congnitive ablities, and very vivid and violent nightmares. After the 1st night I went back to Walgreens and they acted like I was crazy. For the previous 2 years I was trying to find work, and did do some temp work, but had no insurance so I either received my medicine from samples for the psychiatrist or when I moved to a new state to look for work, from a state clinic. I had never had any problems at all when reduce the medicine. I had called my INsurance company to see if they had any complaints or what I had done, they didn't have any answers. By the 3rd day i could barely work, and my now full time job. I went to my doctor and she forturnely gave me samples for a couple of months. That first night of not taking the Walgreens Effexor I felt better. It took about one month for all side effects to be gone. It was so hard to work and function and was extremely scary because of how more my cognitive skills were and dizziness. I did get my prescription from another Walgreens and it happened again. I then went to another local little pharmacy and the pharmacist there was surprised and said that all pharmacy buy their drugs through a 3rd party (distributor) and Walgreens get all their drugs from one distributor, and they get their drugs from a smaller one that has a special creditation. She said that recently the was a conterfiet Cumiden (spell?), a blood thinner, and maybe that is what happened with the Walgreens Effexor. I called the local University and my Insurance company to alert them to this and to see if someone would want to test this drug. The said no, but I think I just didn't talk to the right people. I'm educated and I did work in a small psych hospital about 10 years ago, so I knew that having side effects was not acceptable and somethign was wrong, even though my current dr, and my insurance company phone nurse, thought i was incorrect. I feel very sorry for those who would keep getting their medicine from Walgreens. I tell all my friends and family not to get their drug from Walgreens or other large chains.

This is something that can happen anywhere. I am an intern at walgreens and I am a 43 year old who has made a career change. I know exactly how this error occured. The system is alphabetical and the Coumadin 1mg is listed right next to the Coumadin 10mg because they both start with "Coumadin 1" and then the list continues with the 2mg, 2.5mg, 3mg etc. It really was the responsibility of the pharmacist to catch that error. As for the age of the technician I can tell you that in many cases I would rather have a young person who has skills than an older person that can't even open an email. The fact remains that age did not play a role in this and if not for Walgreen's inovating the pharmacy industry even more mistakes would be made.

Check out the Florida Medical Practice statutes that prevent "adult children" from suing for "wrongful death" caused by medical malpractice.This bought and paid for legislation denies due process and the establishment of the truth for Florida residents over the age of 25 in the most blatant discriminatory way. It singles out injured familes for more abuse by the legal system after no less than the death of a parent in a state with a large senior population. For these millions of Florida families that are prevented from suing all together and those who caused the deaths are protected and the average person has no information on WHO the state licensed medical personnel are! WHy don't you check this issue out Mr Ross?

Walgreen,s filled my prescription wrong also.But I did not ask why the color of the pill change a tech told me that the manfacture had change the color or it was generic,not the case wrong meds.No one was took the blame for wrong medication so I check all meds before leaving and make sure the rx is correct. Sorry some one lost their life becase of a mistake.

Let this be a message to pharmacies....you can't put unqualified people behind the counter, nor can you escape your responsibility to the public, to do your job right, in dispensing prescriptions.

I have never seen a comment that so clearly deliniated the difference between Liberals and Conservatives. Those that believe in personal and corporate responsibility, and those who advocate that businesses can do no wrong.

Walmart screwed up and caused the death of a woman through bad business practices and that makes her husband a lazy bum. This is the same mindset that left the Katrina victims to die and left disabled vets in substandard medical facilities.

Is there no wonder that Americans have rejected the moral abyss that is the Republican party?

Has anyone checked into the possibilty
of toxins in pet and bird toys??

I work at a drugstore but i am not one of the techs or pharmacist. I do however see the thing about people signing their right to counseling over and the same comment thats in the video when the customer ask what their signing for "its verifying that you picked up your prescription." Fortuantly...the pharmacy we have is excellent its only the subsitutes we get when our normal crew goes on vacation that say that when someone signs the paper. Im not saying all the subs do it, im just saying its when i see it occur often. One other thing and its not their fault..they are trying to save money by only having one person work in the pharmacy during saturday evening and all of sunday..and saturdays can get pretty busy..even for a small store. And for those customers who complain about the prescriptions "taking forever." you should be glad their taking forever and not rushing it and trying to get you out the door. I like to commend K and R for their superior efforts in making the pharmacy a safe experiance...were a small store..but abc might want to pop in one day and check it out.

I was a Walgreens Tech until 1 year ago The job was very stressful People say that we are rude however we put up with alot too. People take absolutly no responsibilty...the persciption has expired "call the Doctor for me" the insurance doesnt cover the meds call the insurance for me and the Doctor for me. They leave their scripts at home on vacation..."what do you mean my insurance wont cover it" If we cant read the script we have to call the Doc and the doc doesnt call back asap...we are not the only ones calling everyday..they are busy too...there is a problem with insurance...call the insurance for me...there can be an hour or more wait...has anyone tried to call themselves if you have you know what i mean...we get complaints because the wait is too long...techs are always on the phone with insurance a Doctor a nurse a patient...and I havent even gotten into prior auths...what a joke and time consuming for the techs Pharmacists and nurses...as a Tech I was called a whore...madame of the whore house...inept....and filthy names by customers on a regular basis..and all of this for 8.50 and hour...Just remember be patient because if you are not and the techs and Pharmacists get stessed out bad things can happen..use the automated system...have the docs fax the scripts so they are typed keep your insurance updated and get your formulary...a list of meds that are covered by your insurance and take it with you to the doctor... remember you are not the only patient that they are working on even if there isnt a line they are certainly busy with something

The pharmacist on duty has the LEGAL responsibility to insure the prescription is correct -- not the pharmacy technician. The pharmacist is the one with the LICENSE and the EDUCATION -- not the pharmacy tech -- not the computer -- not the dispensing machine.

ANY pharmacy can make an error. These problems are not unique to Walgreen's. Ultimately, the patient needs to take responsibility for their health care. Don't just put blind faith in their providers -- or pharmacists.

k has some great points. Pharmacies are so overburdened with other tasks that distract them from paying closer attention to filling prescriptions. Being on the phone a half hour at a time with insurance companies at the request of the patient who could call them themselves, on the phone taking down refill numbers from people capable of using automated phone systems themselves, on the phone with Dr's office trying to obtain refill authorizations for patients who could recognize their bottle says "zero" left and could call them themselves. All the while, having people asking, "how long is this going to take?" I'm a pharmacist that used to work the retail rat race, and became so upset about what pharmacy practice has become. (Certainly not what I went to school for). Retail pharmacy chains generally don't provide you with enough staff to deal with all the distractions and fill rxes safely. Every pharmacy makes mistakes,but helping your local pharmacy staff by doing your part will make them a lot fewer.

My doctor prints the presciption out so they are easy to read.

Since every Dr. I have gone to has a computer, it would be very easy to print the prescriptions out. THIS SHOULD BE A LAW !!
I have a Dr. in Palm Springs, CA, who prides herself on her unreadable scrawlings on prescriptions...many times the Pharmacy at Walmart and some Drs. a hospitals have to talk to her personally to find out what she has intended for the prescrition

I am a pharmacist and would like to state that under the Walgreens system, a prescription can NOT be sold unless it is verified by a pharmacist. Technicians type and fill (amongst other duties) and it is our responsibility, as pharmacists, that the prescription is typed and filled correctly, with the correct medication before it is sold to the patient. The blame should not rest on the 19 year old technician at all!
Another thing that so many people have commented on, is how extremely busy pharmacies are. If you are told a wait time of 30 minutes to 1 hour, don't get mad/nasty! There are a million things going on in pharmacies! Let the pharmacist have sufficient time to fill your prescription, because it is both our licence and your life that is at stake!
There are so many patients who do not even know the name of their medications. I would advise them to know/memorize the name, use and what it looks like and to call the pharmacist if there is a change in appearance. Read the patient information handout that is given, and make sure the description of the medication is the same one you are taking. Also, taking a list of which medications are covered by your insurance company to your doctor is the best way to avoid insurance problems.
I am very sorry for what happened to the Hippeley family and hope that this error will teach future pharmacists to offer better vigilance in the practice of pharmacy.

What a vicious, stupid comment by Vicki on August 17th, against the bereaved husband.

Yesterday, during a checkup with my doctor, we discussed the pressure that is being put on pharmacist by the companies they work for to fill more and more prescriptions and do it faster and faster.

I have watched my pharmacist as they work, and I can tell anyone, they aren't playing around. Give them some of the money the drug corporate CEOs are getting.

You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

Rick,

Democrats are the party of personal responsibility?!?! Thank you for the laugh, I needed one after reading the stupid comments from Vicki.

This isn't a political issue!
We all need to realize a person is filling the prescription, they can make mistakes. Its important to know what the meds you take should look like and what dose its supposed to be. It seems like a pain but this isn't the last time this type of death will happen.

I'm a technician and I'm 19 years old. I'm in my 3rd year of COLLEGE pursuing a career in Pharmacy. I take offense to some of the comments posted on this page. The customers are 70% of the time the rude ones that have unrealistic ideas about a pharmacy when they first come. Most of you have NO CLUE of the amount of pressure Pharmacists and Technicians face on a daily basis. All of you can say this and that, but at the end you have no authority and have no right to make a comment because you are not the one filling prescriptions. It's easy to stand behind the counter and say, "oh gosh I need to get my nails done this is taking forever". Do you want the prescription done correctly or not?

The technicians are not the problem. They help Pharmacists out unbelievably. If it wasn't for us, Pharmacists wouldn't be in the field. They will all agree with me. They don't go to school for 7 years to make mistakes such as the ones you hear about. Another thing, stores like CVS and Walgreens produce about 600 prescriptions a day! Sometimes only having 2 Pharmacists! The company forces them to rush, which adds even more pressure.

I'm tired of news articles blaming technicians. It's so easy to target a younger person. If we really are the problem, get rid of us and you will see every Pharmacy falling to pieces. More mistakes would be made then ever. But, everyone will still bitch about something.

I'm not excusing the mistake that was made in this article. The Pharmacists should have not made that mistake and should take responsibility; however, the technician shouldn't be put in articles and on News stations embarrassing them because they want to make a difference in peoples lives. Only dedicated and future Pharmacists (technicians) take technician rolls.

Point is- most of you will continue to bitch about something. If it's not one thing it's another. You will never be happy, and it shows when some of you approach the Pharmacy. You're never happy and you're always pissed off at the world making the job for the Pharmacists and technician more difficult despite the pressure they already face. If you don't like what's being done, SHUT UP and go to a different Pharmacy. I can honestly tell you...The Pharmacists and technicians DON'T CARE if you leave and take your business elsewhere if you're a bitchy customer. They rather have you out of their hair.

You aren't proving a point by saying "I'm going somewhere else". Just do it with grace and move on with your day.

Perhaps if pharmacists focused on doing their job rather than their 'right' to refuse to dispense various legal contraceptives while scholding adult women they would be able to stop killing people.

I stopped getting my prescriptions filled at Walgreens when they made a critical error in a med I was prescribed. After taking one pill and reading the label, I realized it wasn't what I was supposed to be getting. My Walgreens hires people who look like they're 15 years old. The pharmacist looked right out of college. My physician even recommended I switch pharmacies, as Walgreens is getting a bad reputation. I get mine filled at ###### now, and the difference in wait time and personnel friendliness is amazing.

Spencer you seem to be mad at the world. It is not the customers fault that chain pharmacies fill so many prescriptions a day with not alot of staff. It's the actual company because they are trying to make as much profit as they can even if someone dies because of it. Also it dosn't help that pharmacists are taking advantage of the pharmacist shortage and requiring such large salaries. A starting pharmacist- first day on the job out of college makes over 100,000 at Walgreens for 40 hours.
Another thing that would help keep the problems from occuring in the pharmacy would be if the technicians and pharmacists would quit eating like pigs back there. It's disgusting to see them eat a piece of pizza while they handle pills. They also talk to each other the whole time they fill which causes many mistakes. You don't see the cashiers on the floor stufing their faces and chit chatting the whole time they are working. Actually this only seems to be a problem with Walgreens.
I know all this from experience. I worked at Walgreens for over 12 years in management.

25.8 million? wth, this was a case just for money. if this happened to a love one of mine, i would just for the medical fees! this person got way too much free money, they should work hard for it, not get it free!

Some people may feel that 25.8 million is too large an amount of money, what they fail to consider is the source. The lawsuit has two purposes, for them to pay to attempt to correct thier mistake (imposible to replace Beth) and to punish them to make them realize they did wrong and so they remember to not do it again. Apparently Walgreens has reported a fiscal year net earnings of 2.04 Billion dollars for 2007, now if we compare that to the 25.8 million lawsuit we find that they pay about 1.24 percent of the yearly earnings. Maybe they might notice this at thier next profit report meeting? But lets compare this to somebody who earns say 25 thousand a year, this is equivalent to them paying about 310 dollars. Pretty cheap for manslaugher in my opinion. I dont pretend to be a buisiness expert or anything, so if anybody feels I was wrong in useing these numbers please correct me.