Girl wants $100,000 after she was given wrong drug

CHARLES TOWN - A 17-year-old Jefferson County girl is seeking $100,000 from a national pharmacy chain after she was given the wrong drugs.

Bruce Jacobs, filed a complaint March 15 in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of his daughter, who was given the wrong pills in her prescription at a Rite Aid pharmacy.

On Nov. 19, 2006, the girl was prescribed a drug known as Ciproflxacin. The suit says the girl gave the prescription to someone at the pharmacy and was handed a bottle of what was supposed to be the medication prescribed for her. Instead, it was Venlafaxine, which is a treatment of anti-depression.

The lawsuit says Ciprofloxacin -- also called Cipro, Ciproxin and Ciprobay -- is a bactericidal. It blocks bacterial DNA replication. Venlafaxine is an antidepressant that is being evaluated for the treatment of hot flashes in women who have breast cancer.

The girl did not know the drugs she was given were incorrect and took the pills, which caused illness and several disabilities, including shortness of breath, excessive sweating, vomiting and anxiety, the suit says.

Because she took the pills, the girl was incurred and will continue to incur, medical bills.

Jacobs and his daughter, through their attorney Sherman L. Lambert, seek $100,000 to cover damages.

Jefferson Circuit Court case number 07-C-88