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A Las Vegas mother is speaking out four years after an alleged prescription mixup at a CVS pharmacy led to the death of her unborn twins. According to 8 News Now, the incident occurred in 2019 and terminated the woman’s in vitro fertilization (IVF). NHS reports that IVF “is one of several techniques” that help those with “fertility problems” conceive.
Additionally, the process allows an egg from a woman’s ovaries to be fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. Then, the fertilized egg, or embryo, is returned to the woman’s womb to develop.
According to the outlet, Timika Thomas was a mother of four in 2019 when she and her husband decided to have one more child. At that point, Thomas had suffered two ectopic pregnancies, which led to her fallopian tubes being removed.
The couple ultimately decided that in vitro fertilization would be used as they continued on their road to pregnancy. Thomas underwent the procedure, and two fertilized eggs were placed inside her body.
Subsequently, the woman was given multiple prescriptions, with one that would reportedly “trick her body into producing enough hormones” to begin her pregnancy.
“You have to make yourself think it’s pregnant,” Thomas told 8 News Now. “We’re taking a lot of supplements to make our bodies think it’s pregnant.”
According to the outlet, one of the prescriptions included a vaginal suppository. The suppository would replace Thomas having to inject herself with hormones.
On an undisclosed day in 2019, Thomas visited a CVS Pharmacy in North Las Vegas to pick up her prescriptions. However, after taking “two of her required doses,” Thomas suspected something was wrong.
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I started cramping really bad,” Thomas noted to the outlet, explaining that it went beyond typical pain experienced with IVF. “My cramping went beyond that. It was extreme. It was painful.”
Thomas then checked the label on the prescription she had taken and made a stunning discovery.
“The first thing I read is it’s used for abortions,” the mother told 8 News Now, then continued by reflecting on her thoughts in that moment. “They just killed my baby. Both my babies because I transferred two embryos.”
According to documents obtained by 8 News Now, multiple technicians and pharmacists at the North Las Vegas CVS location were involved in the “series of errors” that led to Thomas being given the wrong medication.
The outlet reports that “one technician” assumed she “knew the generic name for the brand prescribed by the doctor” and entered the wrong name into Thomas’ prescription. A pharmacist “did not catch the error.” Then, “another pharmacist failed to counsel Thomas when she came to pick up her medication.”
Thomas told the outlet that if she had been asked if she’d ever taken “Misoprostol or Cytotec” before, she would have informed the pharmacy staff that she hadn’t. Then, ultimately, the error “would have been caught.”
According to the outlet, Thomas filed a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. The board recently met for a hearing on the matter in September.
Thomas testified about the ordeal during the proceeding.
“I understand people make mistakes, but that mistake took something from me,” Thomas told the Board and two of the pharmacists allegedly involved with the incident.
After Thomas’ testimony, the two pharmacists were “fined and had their licenses suspended provisionally.” According to 8 News Now, if both pharmacists stay free from disciplinary action over the next 12 months and “take continuing education credits,” their licenses will be reinstated.
One of the pharmacists reportedly testified that the mistake was “human error.”
“It’s a human error,” one pharmacist reportedly explained amid tears, per 8 News Now. “It was just a human error, and I’m so sorry.”
According to a separate report by 8 News Now, one of the pharmacists alleged that CVS allegedly pressured staff to achieve “metrics” while decreasing workers and increasing workload.
Additionally, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy fined CVS a fine of $10,000, “the maximum amount allowed by statute.” The penalty reportedly cites the company’s “vicarious liability of the pharmacists’ errors.”
In response, CVS Pharmacy issued a statement to 8 News Now regarding the 2019 incident and recent proceedings.
“We’ve apologized to our patient for the prescription incident that occurred in 2019 and have cooperated with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy in this matter,” the statement reads as per 8 News Now. “The health and well-being of our patients is our number one priority and we have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety. Prescription errors are very rare, but if one does occur, we take steps to learn from it in order to continuously improve quality and patient safety.”
Thomas, however, feels the proceeding nor the apology will do much to satisfy her grief from the tragic experience.
“All I got was a sorry,” Thomas told the outlet. “It will never be good enough.”
According to 8 News Now, it remains unclear whether Thomas will file a lawsuit regarding the incident as she could be barred from doing so by a 3-year statute of limitations for the state of Nevada.
