The New York Post reports that a Bronx born seven year old nearly died after a local pharmacy dispensed Methadone instead of Ritalin. A lawsuit is impending. Young Adrien Hernandez went limp and stopped breathing in July, just shortly after ingesting a third pill in what was believed to be a new Ritalin prescription.
“The mom of four was in the shower when her older kids began shouting that her youngest had collapsed. They were screaming Mommy! There’s something wrong with Adrien.” Rushing to his side, mom Christina Torres found him facedown, eyes rolling back in his head, looking blue.”
After Adrien’s mother showed doctors his prescription of Ritalin they discovered that he had been given methadone, which have been confused by other pharmacies in the past. Both pills are stamped with an “M” and are available in similar dosages.
Adrien was hospitalized for seven days with respiratory and heart issues. He still complains of chest pains and lethargy. Torres is suing Felicity Pharmacy in the Bronx Supreme Court, seeking unspecified damages. The FDA has been warning pharmacies for more than a decade to take care not to confuse the two drugs.
USA Today also reported a similar case in 2001 when Pearl Smith’s husband, Terri Smith, died after receiving a methadone prescription with incorrect instructions.
Our firm handled a methadone overdose case several years ago when a methadone clinic prescribed too high a dose to a young man who was trying to break a drug addiction and turn around his life. The verdict in his family’s favor for $1,500,000 is reported in the Verdicts and Settlements section of our website www.DshapiroLaw.com