Walgreens filled prescription with wrong drug, man claims

A man claims a Belleville pharmacy filled his prescription with the wrong medication.

Ernest Carter filed a lawsuit June 3 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Walgreen Company.

Carter claims he visited Walgreen on July 23, 2008, to have his prescription for Hydrocodone, a pain reliever and cough suppressant, filled.

However, instead of Hydrocodone, Walgreen pharmacists filled a bottle with a Hydrocodone label with Metaforim, according to the complaint.

Metaforim is an anti-diabetic drug.

Carter later ingested the Metaforim, causing him to suffer an overdose and to sustain severe and disabling injuries to his heart and other organs, the suit states. In addition, Carter experienced great pain and mental anguish, lost large sums of money because of his inability to pursue his normal occupation and incurred medical costs, the complaint says.

In his complaint, Carter blames Walgreen for causing his injuries, saying the pharmacy's employees negligently put Metaforim in a prescription bottle labeled Hydrocodone and failed to prepare and follow a physician's prescription.

In his complaint, Carter seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs.

Bruce R. Cook of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer and Shevlin in Belleville will be representing him.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-277.