A young woman’s skin has been burned from the inside out after a dosage error, and now it is a noteworthy lawsuit. Ms. Khalia Shaw, 26 years of age, was diagnosed with Steven Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and now her skin is painfully peeling off. Because of this, Ms. Shaw was placed in a three-week long medical-induced coma. A Snellville, Georgia resident, Ms. Shaw has filed a lawsuit in which she claims she received the wrong dose of a prescription medication. Right now she is advocating for this not to happen to any other patient due to pharmaceutical or medical errors.
Ms. Shaw’s story is that in 2014, she visited her doctor for feelings of depression. The doctor prescribed her Lamictal (lamotrigine). Lamictal is an anti-seizure medication that inhibits the release of excitatory amino acid glutamate and inhibits voltage-gated sodium channels to stabilize the neuronal membrane. One of the frequently not defined side effect of Lamictal is a rash, hence, a very rare complication. And a black-box warning is SJS and suicidal ideation. Most people are prescribed Lamictal for seizures, but a few doctors, usually off-label, use it for depression as well.
After taking the medication, as prescribed, for two weeks, Ms. Shaw began to break out in blisters. She went to her doctor and explained she felt as if her skin was on fire, and they promptly diagnosed her with SJS. Ms. Shaw is apparently not alone, since many others are also suing Lamictal for not advertising their side effects effectively or honestly. In July 2012, the pharmaceutical production company of Lamictal paid $3 billion in a lawsuit for this very reason. The company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) pleaded guilty to negligent charges for allegations of fraud as well.
Knowing this, the doctor prescribed Ms. Shaw the medication, and now she has lost all her fingernails and sweat glands, and losing her vision. Another sad reality Ms. Shaw must live with is that since this has happened to her once, the chances of it happening again with another medication is high, and the symptoms will be worse. Her lawsuit is up to $3.45 million, which are just her medical bills, and the dollar sign is rising day by day. She is still under medical management and has a long way to go to heal her skin and decrease the pain.
The unfortunate news is that Ms. Shaw had never heard of SJS until she was diagnosed. This is terrible news not just for her as a person living through it, but also medical negligence on the part of her physician. Her physician failed to abide by their oath to discuss all risk, benefits, and side effects of the medication prescribed. In addition to the doctor’s lack of informed consent, the pharmacy made an error in the dosage. Ms. Shaw wants this to never happen to anyone again, and wants to use the news and her lawsuit as a way to create awareness on this pressing and 100% avoidable issue.
If you or a loved one have been victims like Ms. Khalia Shaw, who has suffered a great amount at such a young age, contact us at Wormington and Bollinger, Arlington, Texas today.