Ivis Higgins v. Thrifty Payless/Rite Aid
Published: Mar. 18, 2000 | Result Date: Feb. 2, 2000 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: NC023050 Verdict – $305,000
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Long Beach
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Richard Bradshaw
(medical)
Charles J. Furst Ph.D., ABCN
(medical)
Defendant
Eric H. Marcus
(medical)
Rex MacAlpin
(medical)
Renee Z. Rinaldi
(medical)
Facts
Plaintiff Ivis Higgins, an unemployed licensed vocational nurse, suffered from polymyositis and hypertension
since 1989. Polymyositis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the muscle tissue. In February 1997, she was
hospitalized for a week with congestive heart failure.
Plaintiff was discharged with various prescription medications, including Lasix, a diuretic; and Calan, a
calcium channel blocker, used to treat hypertension. She weighed about 350 pounds at the time of her
discharge.
On April 27, 1997, plaintiffÆs son picked up a prescription for her at a Thrifty pharmacy in Long Beach. It was
supposed to be Lasix.
Unbeknownst to plaintiff, the pills that Thrifty gave her were actually Calan, in a bottle labeled for a Lasix
prescription. As a result, for four days, plaintiff received no Lasix and an overdose of Calan.
On May 1, 1997, plaintiffÆs daughter found her in a near coma. Plaintiff was rushed to a hospital and
diagnosed with pneumonia, hypoxia, congestive heart failure and a polymyositis flare-up. She was hospitalized
for five days. Shortly after discharge, she checked her medication and discovered ThriftyÆs error.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $250,000 at mediation. defendantÆs highest offer was $50,000 at a subsequent mandatory settlement conference.
Specials in Evidence
Hospitalization(May 1997): $19,900 Psychotherapy: $2,100 Neuropsychological testing $3,000.
Other Information
<m>A mediation was held before Michael Moorhead, resulting in no settlement.</m>
Deliberation
two days
Poll
11-1 (negligence), 10-2 (causation and damages)
Length
five days
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