Inadequate Warning Label Contributes to Heart Attack

Case Overview

This case involves a plaintiff who suffered a massive heart attack when given a medication during a surgical procedure. The plaintiff, a male in his early twenties, was being prepped for surgery when he had an adverse reaction to one of the drugs administered to him for his hemophilia. He suffered a massive heart attack. Because of the heart attack, he now requires twenty-four-hour care. The drug in question did not have a warning for use on hemophiliacs, though a warning was later added.

Questions to the Pharmacy expert and their responses

Was the warning label (at the time of the surgery) inadequate?

By examining the label, coupled with an analysis of similar drugs, medical literature, and other relevant materials, I could arrive at a better perspective on the adequacy of the warning label.

About the expert

This expert has over 30 years of experience in pharmacology. He earned his BS in pharmacy and PharmD, both from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is board-certified in applied pharmacology, is a licensed and registered pharmacist, and is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Additionally, he is the current editor-in-chief of a major pharmacy journal and has published and presented numerous times. His areas of clinical and research expertise include pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics as they relate to drug metabolism, as well as vaccine development and the application of principles of clinical pharmacology to vaccines. Previously, he served as a grant application reviewer at the Food and Drug Administration, a pediatric clinical pharmacist at Case Western Reserve University, and as the chief of clinical pharmacy at Bassett Healthcare. He also served as an assistant and then associate professor of pharmacology and clinical pharmacology at Columbia University. Currently, he is the principal at a pharmacology consultancy, and an adjunct clinical associate professor of pharmacy at a university in upstate New York.