A Virginian doctor is in hot water over a dangerous case of medical malpractice in which he pled guilty of writing prescriptions to people over the internet that he never met nor examined.

Dr. Torrino Jennings received a year and one day in prison for issuing an estimated 100,000 invalid prescriptions of the muscle relaxant SOMA and other drugs to complete strangers over the internet between 2004 and 2007.  Jennings was paid between $5-$7 for each prescription and, according to court documents, “virtually no request for drugs submitted by the online pharmacies to Jennings for endorsement was ever rejected”.

The Judge went easy on Jennings who faced a maximum sentence of 27 years and nearly $2 million in fines.

This case is a reminder that even those doctors who appear to be reputable can be hiding a dirty secret.  It’s perfectly conceivable that any one of the people that Jennings wrote phony prescriptions for could have had a dangerous reaction that placed their life in danger.

A somewhat surprising update to a case first discussed here in July, involving two Kansas doctors who were facing multiple charges of prescription malpractice following the death of one of their patients from an overdose.

One of the two physicians, Dr. Lawrence Simons, has voluntarily surrendered his medical license to the state Medical Board in an attempt to avoid further disciplinary actions against him.

Along with his former medical partner, Dr. Stephen Schneider, Simons was brought up on allegations of excessive prescribing of a controlled substance, failure to properly keep written medical records, unprofessional conduct and a host of other violations.

Surrendering his license may get Simons out of hot water with the Medical Board, however there are still 36 criminal charges pending against him and roughly half a dozen medical malpractice lawsuits, including the one involving the wrongful death of a patient.

There has not been an update reported regarding Dr. Schneider to date.

Source:  www.kansas.com

The parents of a baby girl who was severely brain damaged by a hospital prescription error have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit.  The exact amount they are suing for has not been specified but it’s reported that they are seeking hundreds of millions to compensate them for past and future medical bills.

Tesome Sampson and Frank Guy are suing St. Mary’s Medical Center in Florida, as well as the hospital’s owner and numerous doctors, nurses and pharmacists, all of whom the couple allege had a hand in their daughter’s premature birth and subsequent permanent brain damage.

Sampson was admitted to St. Mary’s on August 25, 2008 only 24 weeks along in her pregnancy.  She was put on bed rest as doctors were concerned that she would deliver too early.  Unfortunately, while in the hospital, Sampson was mistakenly given a dose of a drug called Prostin E2, which is typically used to terminate pregnancies or in some cases to speed up labor.

Shortly after ingesting the drug, Sampson began experiencing severe cramps.  Doctors brought her a portable toilet and told her that she likely needed to have a bowel movement; however she instead gave birth to her daughter, two months early and severely brain damaged.

The lawsuit alleges that the premature birth and subsequent brain injury were a direct result of the medication error.

The results of this suit will be reported here as soon as they become available.

Prescription malpractice can happen with just one small mistake, but as seen in the above story, can have devastating and lifelong results.  If you or a loved one has suffered injury due to a medication error, discuss your situation with an experienced medical attorney to find out what your legal rights are.