RALPH began the prestigious 6-year BA/MD program at UMKC at the age of 18 in 2014. (Honors High School Student with a normal childhood medical history: sore throat, colds, etc…) 125 high school graduates are admitted each year.
In May of 2015, he presented to the Emergency Room at St. Luke’s Hospital Kansas City, MO with food poisoning. He was administered 5mg of the generic version of Reglan, manufactured by TEVA, in a bolus injection (higher incidence of side effects). These side effects, well known to the FDA, were immediate. THIS IS A BLACK BOX WARNING drug well known for its risk. How did it end up in my son’s body that night?
I tried to sue TEVA in St. Louis federal court. Follow the legal “back and forth.” The complete legal narrative for my case is the story of any American citizen injured by a generic drug in my opinion. My attorney and the “group” of TEVA attorneys presented their sides. The link below was just the beginning of many months.
https://stlrecord.com/stories/511145565-st-louis-father-claims-pharmaceutical-companies-product-caused-injuries-to-sonThe case was blocked by a United States Supreme Court ruling affectively limiting and insulating generic drug manufacturers from liability.
I quote from the above linked article:“In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said a decision by the F.D.A. to approve a drug should not absolve a company of its responsibility to sell a safe product.Manufacturers regularly take drugs off the market when evidence emerges about a drug’s risks, particularly when safer drugs that provide the same therapeutic benefits are available,” she wrote in her dissent, which was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote a separate dissent, which was joined by Justice Elena Kagan.”
It is my opinion that the American People need to know that Generic Drugs are effectively insulated from liability and hospitals are using FDA black box warning drugs as first choices. Why?
It is my understanding that Reglan (generic form metoclopramide) is included as the number one drug of choice in the Emergency Room “protocol in many, many ERs.” The American people need to know that drugs with BLACK BOX WARNINGS are utilized as choice one drugs in Emergency Rooms. I cannot find out why. Reglan is a dangerous drug impacting the neurology and psychiatry of a person when side effects occur. It would have been better for the treating physician to have sent him home with a bottle of Gatorade.
Referring to the general content of the NYT linked article - (safer drugs that provide the same therapeutic benefits are available). There are many other drugs which could have provided relief from food poisoning which would have avoided the use of generic Reglan. WHY is it still in the market?
I brought Ralph back to Saint Louis in 2015 to be treated at the prestigious Washington University/Barnes Hospital Medical Center. He was treated in the following departments: Internal Medicine, Neurology Movement Disorder, Pain Management Clinic, Psychiatry, Pain Psychology, Neuro-Psychiatry, Neurology with no clear answers. Dozens of drugs, including high doses of pain medication, would not relieve his pain and suffering. He had intense leg pain, burning skin sensations, and Akathisia (internal restlessness torture), to mention a few of his horrific symptoms. His feet curled permanently in the pain. The side effects of this drug distilled the soul out of his body with physical torture.
AT THE TIME IN THE ER, THERE WERE AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF ALTERNATIVE SAFER DRUGS WITH THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS FOR MY SON RALPH OR JUST AN IV FOR FLUIDS.
IF PHYSICIANS JUST FOLLOW A PROTOCAL, HOW IS PROTOCAL ESTABLISHED? WHY DOES IT INCLUDE BLACK BOX WARNING DRUGS? (i.e. Reglan in generic form metoclopramide made by TEVA/established history of dangerous side effects) In my opinion, generic pharma exists in the Rocky Mountain “wild west.”
THERE ARE NO LEGAL MEANS TO IMPACT A GENERIC DRUG COMPANY WITH THE SUPREME COURT RULING IN MY OPINION. THE UNITED STATES PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ALL OF THIS.
President Obama graduated Columbia the year I started in the first ever co-ed Columbia University class. My dorm window allowed me to stare at Hamilton Hall for two years. In my opinion, Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father, would never had stood by as Generic Pharma is guided by economics and not the value of human life. This needs to stop. Generic economics worships the “golden calf.” My son was a sacrifice. I was educated to speak up and as an American citizen here is my story. There are more “RALPHS” coming. This is about saving the “RALPHS” that are still alive. If my son’s legacy creates change, this will provide meaning to the rest of my life and my two daughters who longer have their brother.
I should be with my son Ralph on every Father’s Day.