Opinion ID: 2520989
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: pharmacist liability in utah

Text: ¶ 34 The only remaining grounds for a claim against Stewart's in this case is negligence. While pharmacists are exempt from strict products liability in Utah, a pharmacist may still be liable for claims of professional malpractice or negligence. However, Schaerrer disposed of any claim for malpractice or negligence when she stipulated that the one-a-day fen-phen did not increase her risk of harm. ¶ 35 A successful medical malpractice claim requires that the plaintiff prove the standard of care expected of the medical professional, breach, causation, and damages. Robb v. Anderton, 863 P.2d 1322, 1327 (Utah Ct.App.1993). Specifically, a pharmacist has a generally recognized duty to possess and exercise the reasonable degree of skill, care, and knowledge that would be exercised by a reasonably prudent pharmacist in the same situation. Marjorie A. Shields, Annotation, Exemplary or Punitive Damages for Pharmacist's Wrongful Conduct in Preparing or Dispensing Medical PrescriptionCases not Under Consumer Product Safety Act, 109 A.L.R.5th 397, § 2 (2003). This duty is most commonly breached within the pharmacy profession by negligent packaging or dispensing of prescription drugs. For example, breach of a pharmacist's duty can take the form of a misfilled prescription, dispensing a drug other than the one prescribed, giving an incorrect dosage, improper labeling or directions for use of the drug, or selling a prescription meant for one customer to another customer. Timothy E. Travers, Annotation, Druggist's Civil Liability for Injuries Sustained as a Result of Negligence in Incorrectly Filling Drug Prescriptions, 3 A.L.R.4th 270 (1981). Liability for negligence may also be incurred if a pharmacist adds or substitutes an ingredient other than the one prescribed in a compounded drug or dispenses an incorrect percentage of ingredients in a compounded drug. Id. Although pharmacists can be held liable for negligence if there is a breach of duty, pharmacists are protected from claims if they fill a prescription precisely as directed by the manufacturer or physician. Elliott v. A.H. Robins Co., 262 A.D.2d 132, 691 N.Y.S.2d 501, 502 (App.Div.1999). ¶ 36 Even in circumstances where a pharmacist has clearly breached his professional duty by negligently packaging or dispensing a prescription drug, a negligence claim will fail unless the plaintiff can prove the negligent behavior caused the injuries in question. In the current case, Stewart's cannot be held liable for the harm Schaerrer suffered as a result of taking the one-a-day fen-phen tablet. Although Stewart's compounded the tablet, Schaerrer conceded at trial that no additional damage was suffered because of the compounding of the fenfluramine and phentermine. Without evidence of increased harm from Stewart's activity, there can be no causation. As a result of the Schaerrer stipulation that Stewart's compounding was not a proximate cause of the damage she suffered, Schaerrer cannot make out a complete negligence claim and therefore has no recourse against the pharmacy.