SETTLEMENT

An elderly gentleman with Kidney disease was suffering from high cholesterol and high triglycerides. The nurse practitioner that was treating him prescribed a combination of simvastatin, more commonly known as Zocor and gemfibrizole, more commonly known as Lopid in amounts much higher than recommended by the pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs. The drug overdose caused a condition called rhabdomyolosis in which muscle tissue dissolved and entered his bloodstream. Because he was already suffering from kidney disease, the muscle contents in his bloodstream caused his kidneys to permanently shut down. He ultimately needed a kidney transplant. The defense claimed our client’s kidneys were so badly damaged before the overdose that he was going to need a kidney transplant anyway.