Local

Child receives wrong prescription

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Walton County mother said her son was given someone else's prescription at a Walmart pharmacy.

Doctors said the dosage could have killed him.

"Even one event of this nature is unacceptable and we deeply regret that it happened," said Walmart spokesperson Ashley Hardie.

Margaret Johnson said she went to get her son's prescription filled for antibiotics after he received a tick bite. Johnson said she wished she checked the prescription more carefully.

"Very guilty, that I gave it to him but I didn't know," Johnson said.

Johnson said she received two prescriptions bags from the pharmacy. Her15-year-old son's name, Justin Johnson, was on front bag, and stapled to the back. She did not notice the other patient's name, on the second bag.

"No one at the pharmacy noticed, and since they told her how to take the medication, she did what any patient would do," said Kevin Adamson, Johnson's attorney.

The prescription that Johnson received was meant for another patient, with the same initials as Justin's. The prescription was for 400 milligrams of an anti-psychotic called Quetiapine, a generic version of Seroquel, which is used to treat adults with severe psychiatric disorders.

Johnson son suffered an immediate reaction, and she said he went to the emergency room twice.

"He was vomiting, dizzy when he stood up," Johnson said. "I just can't get over it, knowing that I gave it to him and I didn't look at it."

At the time, Johnson said she didn't notice the other man's name on the bottle. She says Walmart contacted her the following day.

"After apologizing, she offered me a $250 Walmart gift card," Johnson said.

Johnson also told Stockman that Walmart tried to get her to sign a form to waive the store of responsibility. She refused.

"I was very angry, very hurt. It was almost like he was nothing."

Walmart's full statement is below:

"We have apologized to Ms. Johnson and are disappointed something like this could occur despite systems and controls we have built to prevent it. Even one event of this nature is unacceptable and we deeply regret that it happened.

"Our pharmacy teams are committed to providing excellent patient care to all of our customers. We take customer safety seriously and work hard every day to ensure we live up to the high standards we set for ourselves and that our customers expect."

Johnson said she wanted to tell her story, to warn others.

"I always trusted pharmacies that they were giving us the right thing, to give our children, but from now on I will always check," Johnson said.