Ex-CVS Worker Facing Lawsuit
By Cleve Wiese, The News Virginian, Waynesboro, Va.
Jun. 13–A former Waynesboro pharmacist will face a civil trial in a $250,000 lawsuit charging he mistakenly filled a prescription for an anti-seizure drug with a similarly named anti-fungal medicine.
Defense attorneys have withdrawn a motion to have the case dismissed. A hearing on the motion scheduled for this morning has been cancelled.
Clyde T. VanHuss Jr., the former head pharmacist at the CVS location on Broad Street in Waynesboro, dispensed the anti-fungal agent Lamisil in place of the prescribed Lamictal on Aug 4, 2006, according to the lawsuit. Four days later, the plaintiff, Augusta County resident Christopher Terrell, an epileptic, was hospitalized twice at Augusta Medical Center with severe seizures, according to the lawsuit.
The incident was not VanHuss’s first on-the-job mix-up, according to a Virginia Board of Pharmacy consent order submitted by Terrell’s attorney as evidence. The board fined VanHuss $250 for dispensing the wrong medication on two occasions in 1994.
According to another Board of Pharmacy consent order included in the court documents, VanHuss has a history of substance abuse, sometimes involving illegally obtained prescription drugs. VanHuss attended an Aug. 3, 1992, area pharmacy meeting in Charlottesville under the influence of alcohol and the drugs Xanax and Fiorcet, according to the order.
“Specifically, he appeared inebriated and physically impaired, he walked with a stagger …” according to the order.
An inventory that day at the Broad Street pharmacy revealed a shortage of 77 Xanax tablets, according to the order.
The board put VanHuss on two years’ probation following the incident.
During a 1993 investigation, VanHuss admitted to taking Xanax from the pharmacy and self-administering it while on duty, according to the order.
“By his own admission, Mr. VanHuss obtained and self-administered Fioricet and Xanax on divers occasions without legal authorization or prescription …” according to the order.
VanHuss was fired from his position at CVS following an incident earlier this year, according to a document obtained through the Virginia Board of Pharmacy web site. After arriving to work late on Feb. 20, VanHuss had trouble opening the pharmacy and failed to turn off its security alarm, according to the document.
He later collapsed on the floor and was transported to Augusta Medical Center, where a test revealed his blood alcohol level to be 0.228 percent, according the document. The legal driving limit in Virginia is 0.08 percent. In April, the Board of Pharmacy suspended VanHuss’ license indefinitely.
Terrell is suing both VanHuss and CVS of Virginia, Inc. for negligence and punitive damages. A trial date in the suit, which was originally filed July 30, 2007, has not been set.
—–
To see more of The News Virginian or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsvirginian.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The News Virginian, Waynesboro, Va.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.