united-states consumer-protection medical product-liability
Received defective Rx. Pharmacy and manufacturer refuses to refund me
<p>I need advice on how I can get a refund on a defective ~$186 Sam's Club prescription. They were not only ineffective, but I experienced withdrawal symptoms taking those.</p>

<p><strong>What legal recourse do I have?</strong> Obviously, the attorney's fee will cost more than the Rx. Here are the details...</p>

<p>Cutting the tablets in half, it was obvious that the previous tablets --that <em>were</em> effective-- looked different from the last Rx that was <em>not</em>. The tablets that were effective had a layer of dark gray on one side; the "dud" batch did not, but instead had an all-white interior. </p>

<p>As soon as I took the replacement non-time-release alternative Rx prescribed by my physician, I experienced relief from the withdrawal symptoms as well as my medical condition. The M.D. told me that I needed to contact the pharmacy. </p>

<p>Well, both the manager of the Sam's Club pharmacy in Springfield, MO and the lady I spoke with at the drug manufacturer have flatly stated (over the phone) that they will neither accept a return (or even samples for testing) nor refund the price we paid for these dud, ineffective tablets. 
The lady at the manufacturer told me that they would file a manufacturing defect report to the FDA. That was all. </p>

<p>The pharmacy manager claimed that the tablets for the previous, effective Rx was from the same batch as the last, "dud" Rx refill.</p>

<p>What to do? I've already contacted a local TV news station that has excellent consumer-advocacy spots (<em>On Your Side</em> Contact KY3). However, it now seems clear to me that she is not going to televise this.</p>

<p>I have little doubt that you are in the right. The Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in MO would give you a legal right to a refund for breach of warranty from the pharmacy in this case.</p>
<p>The hard part is proving it cost-effectively. This is not a type of dispute in which the prevailing party is entitled to attorneys' fees, although they would be entitled to &quot;court costs&quot; such as filing fees and process server fees if they prevailed. So, small claims court is the only cost effective forum that would be plausible (and it is possible that Sam's Club requires you to agree to an arbitration clause, I don't know as I don't shop there).</p>
<p>The burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence, so a judge might simply believe your testimony and look at the respective pills. But, to really prove it definitively, you'd need an chemical test of the defective pills which would cost hundreds of dollars.</p>
<p>While $189 is enough to be irritating, I'm not sure that it would be worth the half a dozen to dozen hours or so it would take to bring a small claims lawsuit. I'd probably write a letter to someone higher up in the company, stop doing business with them, and give them a bad online review and leave it at that in your shoes.</p>

<p>If you only want your money back since you did not suffer damages, you could sue them in small claims court. Before doing that make sure you sue the ones who made the error, our you would have to sue again and eat the court costs.</p>

<ul>
<li>Did your doctor prescribe the right drug?</li>
<li>Did the pharmacy provide the what the doctor prescribed, but the drug was faulty?</li>
<li>Did the pharmacy make a mistake and gave you the wrong drug?</li>
</ul>

<p>If you sue a large company it is likely that they will try to settle since it is cheaper than paying someone to appear in small claims court.</p>
