CHARLESTON - Instead of filling a prescription for anti-inflammatory medication, a Kanawha County woman says she was given anti-depressants by the Rite Aid pharmacy.
Carolyn Nichols filed a lawsuit Aug. 3 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Rite Aid of West Virginia over the incident.
She says she took the wrong medication for seven weeks, and it's Rite Aid's fault.
"The Rite Aid pharmacist gave Ms. Nichols Wellbutrin, an anti-depressant," the complaint says.
It adds that Nichols was being treated for pain associated with a back ailment and female issues by Dr. Michelle Burdette, who wrote the prescription for anti-inflammatory pain medication.
When she tried to have it filled in Sissonville, she received the Wellbutrin.
Nichols says it caused her "to become depressed, to sleep inordinate periods of time, miss an extensive amount of work and have crying spells and nightmares."
She also blames Rite Aid for having to be weaned off Wellbutrin, as well as causing her recovery from her original problem to be extended.
In addition to compensatory damages, Nichols seeks punitive damages. She is represented by Katherine Dooley of the Dooley Law Firm in Charleston.
Judge Paul Zakaib has been assigned the case.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 06-C-1525
Woman says she was given wrong medication
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