RethinkingPatientSafety.com: Death Is Worse Than a Six Month Sentence

Legal proceedings about Emily Jerry triggered noise & public awareness

A February 26, 2006, Cleveland, Ohio, pharmacist’s error in mixing medication for two year old Emily Jerry took her life. Criminal prosecution of the pharmacist has generated detailed newspaper reports.

For too long, most errors have been ignored by the medical profession and the media. The deaths of children unrelated to celebrities are usually not considered “newsworthy.” I have not been able to find any news stories about Emily Jerry’s death published in 2006, the year she died. The earliest article I have found is a January 2007 article about “Emily’s Law” being enacted. The error was subsequently discussed in newspaper articles covering some aspect of the legal proceedings: the criminal charges against the pharmacist, the licensure hearings against the pharmacist, the pharmacist’s being released from jail, or the push for state regulation of pharmacy technicians. Without those events, I would never have been aware of this case. I fear that the public discussion of this case would not have occurred. Sadly, the only vehicle most families have to advance public discussion of medical mishaps are legal proceedings.

Read the in-depth report here.