A US jury has found that a Texas doctor's poor penmanship was partly to blame for the death of a 42-year-old man. American Medical News (Nov. 22/29, 1999, p. 1) reports that the verdict is probably the first in the US in which a physician was found negligent solely on the basis of poor handwriting. FIGURE
Cardiologist Ramachandra Kolluru of Odessa, Texas, allegedly wrote a prescription that called for Ramon Vasquez to take 20 mg of Isordil (isosorbide) every 6 hours. However, the illegibility of the prescription caused a pharmacist to dispense the same dosage of Plendil (felodipine), although the maximum daily dose was only 10 mg. (In Canada the maximum recommended daily dose is 20 mg.) Vasquez had a heart attack a day after taking the Plendil and died several days later. Jurors attributed his death to the drug and found the physician and pharmacy equally liable for the fatal error. Each was ordered to pay $225 000.
"This is a wake-up call," said Max Wright, the attorney for Kolluru. "[It is] another reminder that doctors ... need to ensure that they have communicated what they meant to communicate to their patients."