Woman sues Rite Aid over acetaminophen dosage

CHARLESTON - A woman is suing Rite Aid of West Virginia Inc. for damages she sustained from a large dosage of acetaminophen in endocet tablets.

Rite Aid is doing business as Rite Aid Discount Pharmacy #2610.

Kenneth Gianettino was also named as a defendant in the suit.

The defendants sold, distributed and placed in the stream of commerce a one-month supply of endocet tablets to Judith Moses in May 2011, according to a complaint filed May 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Moses claims the acetaminophen dosage in the tablets was larger than was prescribed and caused her liver toxicity and other damage to her liver.

Pursuant to the prescription issued to Moses by her physician, she was supposed to receive endocet tablets with a dosage of 10mg oxycodone and 325mg acetaminophen, but the tablets sold her Moses by the defendants contained 650mg of acetaminophen, according to the suit.

Moses claims the endocet tablets containing double the dosage were not safe for her to ingest and over-dosage of acetaminophen can cause liver toxicity and other liver damages.

As a result of taking the endocet tablets, Moses suffered from elevated liver enzymes, an enlarged liver and was diagnosed with liver toxicity, according to the suit.

Moses claims in July 2011, the defendants notified her of the endocet tablet recall.

The defendants were negligent for failing to detect and identify the defective endocet tablets before selling and distributing them to their customers, including Moses, according to the suit.

Moses claims the endocet tablets were in an unsafe, defective and inherently dangerous condition, which was unreasonably dangerous to its users because the medication contained excess levels of acetaminophen.

As a result of the defendants' actions, Moses suffered liver injury and liver toxicity; physical injury and damages; incurred medical expenses and lost wages; sustained a loss of earning capacity; endured pain and suffering; sustained permanent injury; and suffered aggravation, annoyance and mental anguish, according to the suit.

Moses is seeking compensatory damages. She is being represented by William M. Tiano of Tiano O'Dell PLLC.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-1016