Jury Finds Physician Negligent for Failing to Realize Drug Contraindication

Doctor F was a primary care physician who shared a small practice with 2 other physicians. He saw patients of all ages; many of his patients had been with him for years. One such patient was Mrs B. The 65-year-old had been Dr F’s patient for the past 8 years. Her husband was also a patient. Mrs B had high cholesterol, which was being treated with simvastatin, and suffered from seasonal allergies, for which she was occasionally prescribed a nasal steroid.

One afternoon Mrs B came in for an appointment with the physician. She had been feeling under the weather and described her symptoms to the physician, which included a sore throat lasting almost a week, as well as a cough.

Doctor F questioned her about the nature of the cough, and she described it as productive. The physician suspected an infection and prescribed clarithromycin.

Three weeks later, Mrs B began experiencing pain and weakness in her legs. At first, she thought that maybe she had overdone it. She and her husband were athletic and had just returned from a ski trip. But the pain and weakness did not feel like the usual after-exertion tiredness, and resting did not help.

Within days Mrs B became bed-ridden and unable to walk. Her husband took her to the local hospital. At the hospital a nurse took a full history of Mrs B’s prescription medications and noted that the patient took simvastatin for hypercholesterolemia. When the hospital’s physician asked Mrs B about recent illnesses, she mentioned that she’d had a sore throat and cough a few weeks ago for which she’d taken clarithromycin.

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