Emily's Act: The new law enacted over a fatal pharmacy mistake that killed a two-year-old girl.

In 2006, two-year-old Emily Jerry was taken by her parents to a Cleveland hospital to receive her last chemotherapy treatment. It was a happy event, since doctors had noted that the tumor Emily had, a curable form of cancer, had practically disappeared. Emily’s family had just celebrated her second birthday only days before. But this last hospital visit turned into a nightmare for the Jerry family. Instead of being released to go home with her family, Emily died three days later after receiving an overdose of sodium chloride in her chemotherapy IV bag. Court documents revealed that a busy and chaotic hospital environment, as well as a rushed technician mixing the medication, contributed to the fatal mistake.
Pharmacist signed off on incorrect saline dosage
A pharmacy technician prepared her medication but mixed an incorrect and lethal dose of sodium chloride, using 23% salt rather than the 1% prescribed. The pharmacist on staff, Eric Cropp, failed to check behind the technician’s work and signed off on a fatal mix of medication for a two-year-old child.
Pharmacy technician claims she knew something was wrong.
Instead of using a standard sodium chloride solution bag (with less than 1% of solution) the pharmacy technician mixed a bag herself with sodium chloride solution of 23%. During the investigation into Emily’s death, investigators asked the technician why she made this error and she said that she did not know. She claimed that she knew that something was wrong with the solution but she was not sure what. The pharmacy technician was asked if she knew that an overdose of sodium chloride could result in death and she stated that she was not aware of that fact.
Family files lawsuit, creating Emily’s Act.
The investigation revealed that Cropp, in his own statement, had been rushed, which caused him to miss any flags that the technician had done something wrong. Another pharmacy board investigator found that the technician had spent time on the Internet "planning her wedding" during a lull before the error.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy revoked Cropp’s pharmacist license and he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and served six months in prison. The technician in the case was not charged. Pharmacists generally are not disciplined with criminal charges in cases like these so the Cropp case is a big step in revealing the epidemic of prescription errors.
Change can result when people file lawsuits against the responsible parties.
In 2006, Ohio was among at least 11 states that did not regulate pharmacy technicians. In 2009, the Ohio governor signed Emily’s Act into law, requiring schooling and certification for pharmacy technicians.
Pharmacy errors can put a child's life at risk quickly.
Learn how to avoid every parent's worst nightmare by downloading our free checklist, "10 Tips to Protect your Kids from Pharmacy Errors."

If you or a loved one were harmed by a pharmacy error or prescription error, you can order our free book to learn how you can take action against pharmacy errors. You can also call our office at 888-526-7616 to get a free case review today.