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OREM — A Utah family spoke out for the first time Thursday after filing a lawsuit against an American Fork assisted living facility and 10 other businesses or individuals related to a drug mixup they allege led to the death of their loved one.
During an interview with KSL TV, family members of Gloria Dunn said they are still in shock about her death nearly a year later. The lawsuit, which was filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday, alleges Utah-based Select Pharmacy sent Bel Aire Assisted Living Facility in American Fork methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer, instead of metolazone, a diuretic medication "that helps the body rid itself of excess fluid," which Dunn had been prescribed. They also claim several individuals failed to notice the mistake.
"It was just such a sense of loss that this didn't have to have happened, and there wasn't anything we could do about it," said Tani Griffin, Gloria Dunn’s daughter.
Dunn died on Aug. 27, 2018, which was a month after the alleged drug mixup. She was 75.
“Within three days, mom had deteriorated to the point where she wasn’t functioning … she was shutting down,” said Joshua Dunn, Gloria Dunn’s son.
“She couldn’t breathe. She had serious mouth sores. It was a hard thing to watch,” Griffin added. “If this had happened from natural causes that would have been horrible enough. But to know that this didn’t have to happen … her level of suffering was terrible.”
Gloria Dunn’s family said she left behind six children, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They said she was an educator who taught children in Utah County for many years.
“She really devoted her life to the education of children and people who had special needs,” Joshua Dunn said.
Related:
Lawsuit claims Utah woman died after she was mistakenly given chemotherapy medication
A Utah woman died after she was mistakenly given a medication commonly used for chemotherapy, a lawsuit filed by the woman's family alleges.In all, the lawsuit names 11 defendants, including Select Pharmacy and Bel Aire Assisted Living Facility. It also names Revere Health, which it states was Gloria Dunn’s health care provider, and the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, as well as various individuals. According to the lawsuit, one of the individual defendants was a pharmacy student working for Select Pharmacy at the time.
Bel Aire has not yet responded to several requests for comment made by different KSL platforms since Wednesday. An official from Select Pharmacy declined to comment. Two other defendants in the case released statements to KSL.
Revere Health wrote: “Due to (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy rules, we are not able to comment on who we may have or may not have treated, nor on any specific case. We strive to provide the best services to those we have the privilege to treat.”
Officials from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy wrote: “Our deepest condolences go out to the Dunn Family. We continue to gather information on this case and have no comment at this time.”
The family stated in the lawsuit they were seeking a jury trial, but it's unclear when that would begin.
As of Friday morning, court records showed none of the 11 defendants named in the lawsuit had listed legal representation in the case. Appearances related to the case have yet to be scheduled, as well.
Contributing: Matt Rascon, KSL TV
