$33.3 Million Verdict Upheld Against Walgreens

The Second DCA (Lakeland) upheld a $33.3 million verdict against Walgreens Pharmacy for a Mulberry family that suffered the loss of a wife and mother.  Beth Hippely, 46, was a cancer patient taking Warfarin (Coumadin), which is a blood thinner.  When Mrs. Hippely had her prescription filled at the Walgreens on Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland, the pharmacy incorrectly filled the prescription giving her a dose that was significantly higher than prescribed.  As a result, Mrs. Hippely suffered brain bleeding (cerebral hemorrhaging), paralysis, and eventually death from the blood thinning medication.  The error occurred when a teenage pharmacy technician incorrectly filled the prescription.  The Hippely's attorney was Christian D. Searcy of West Palm Beach.