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| Lawsuit Coming Related to Haven Drugs Shootings: Rants and Musings of a Retail Pharmacist |
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by The Redheaded Pharmacist - February 13, 2012
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Provided by The Redheaded Pharmacist
Last summer, a very high profile pharmacy robbery made national news. David Laffer’s robbery and quadruple homicide at Haven Drugs in Long Island, NY raised questions about workplace safety in pharmacies and demonstrated just how dangerous retail pharmacy work can be. But the robbery itself is just the beginning of this story.
Laffer, the man behind the robbery and shootings, was arrested shortly after the crime with his wife. He plead guilty to murder and is now serving consecutive life sentences. His wife is now serving 25 years in prison for her role in the crime.
But just because Laffer and his wife are now behind bars doesn’t mean this story is over. There is now a large lawsuit resulting from this case. According to The New York Post, the family of one of the victims of the June 2011 shooting is now filing a lawsuit in response to the crime. And this legal case raises some very interesting questions about liability and blame in the aftermath of a violent pharmacy-related crime.
According to the NY Post article, family members of Jaime Tacetta are filing a lawsuit to the tune of $20 million related to her death. Tacetta was one of the customers who was a victim of the robbery last June. But the interesting aspect of this lawsuit are the defendants named in this case. Everyone from the drug manufacturer to the doctor prescribing the medication for Laffer and even the police involved in the investigation of the crime are included in this lawsuit.
The attorney who filed the case, John Ray, argues among other things that Abbott Laboratories failed to properly oversee the distribution of some pain medications they manufacture. The suit also names Vinoda Kudchadkar, owner of Haven Drugs, as a defendant. Ray argues that Kudchadkar should have taken extra precautions to avoid the robbery and protect his employees and customers.
The police department is also being named in this lawsuit because Ray argues that they didn’t properly follow up on an investigation of Laffer that should have happened before the Haven Drugs robbery occurred. This raises the question of whether or not law enforcement should have done more to investigate Laffer before he went on a killing spree last June. What could they have realistically done to prevent such a crime?
So what do I make out of all of this? Well, let me first mention the fact that I am not a lawyer or legal expert of any kind. I’m a pharmacist. But I do think this lawsuit raises some valid questions regarding liability and blame.
Should a pharmacy or drug manufacturer be held liable for a pharmacy robbery that turns violent? Who determines what is considered “sufficient safety precautions” for pharmacy employees and customers when determining if a pharmacy could be held liable in a case such as this one? And what about drug manufacturers or the police? Could they really be held liable themselves?
As is usually the case, no one being named in this lawsuit is commenting on it. One of the doctors involved in the case is also being investigated for prescribing pain medications to drug abusers and dealers. Should this doctor or any other prescriber be held liable if one of their patient’s goes on a crime spree to get drugs? According to Ray, they should.
I guess I’m just wondering if this is actually a valid lawsuit or if this is our United States legal system spiraling out of control? Can a drug manufacturer, prescriber, distributor, or pharmacy be held liable for the crimes of one desperate drug seeker? Should a police department be held liable for a follow up investigation they didn’t feel was warranted at the time?
By bringing these questions to you today I don’t want to downplay the severity of the crime or overlook the obvious pain and suffering the families of the victims of this crime must have gone through. This was one of the most heinous pharmacy-related crimes I’ve every heard of in my entire life. It’s stories like these that really make me wonder about the safety of pharmacy employees and customers in the average pharmacy. But where does the liability for the deaths of those four victims fall in this specific instance?
I also wonder what the implications are for the major drugstore chains if Haven Drugs is indeed held liable in this case. If pharmacy owners can be sued, will safety standards change in the future to protect people and avoid liability? What about drug manufacturers? Are there instances where drug manufacturers should be held liable for their role in the distribution of powerful narcotics? Do they have a responsibility to ensure that the medications they produce are prescribed and sold properly?
I don’t have the answers here. I’m looking for feedback from readers. My gut tells me that this lawsuit crosses the line from legitimate to over-reaching and it throws out too wide of a net of liability. I don’t see how suing everyone remotely involved with this crime will do anything other than put a lot of people through a long lawsuit.
I knew the moment I first read about the Haven Drugs murders and robbery last summer that some kind of lawsuit would result from this terrible crime. The question that I have for you today though is who is to blame and what can really be done to prevent such a crime from happening again? What do you think about this lawsuit? Is it warranted or should this case be thrown out? The answers to those questions may affect all pharmacies and the steps they take to protect patients and employees. What do you think?
The Redheaded Pharmacist
The Redheaded Pharmacist has been working full time in retail pharmacy for more than a decade. He is in his mid 30s, and, yes, he has red hair.
Disclaimer: This blog represents the opinions of the author and the author alone. It does not represent any pharmacy group or organization. I also will leave out or change the names of patients/customers to protect their privacy and comply with government regulations regarding patient privacy rights and personal information.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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