Style Weekly
There's a long list of medications used to treat attention deficit disorder in children. Methadone, a high-powered opiate typically given to recovering heroin addicts, isn't one of them.
But following a mix-up by Westbury Pharmacy, that's what Hunter Croxford, then age 6, got before school one morning in July 2010.
Croxford overdosed, becoming nauseated and lethargic to the point where his school sent him to the hospital. Doctors held him for 24 hours while he recovered, according to a lawsuit his parents filed against the family-owned pharmacy off Three Chopt Road in Henrico County, which made the mistake.
The two parties agreed to settle that case this week, with the pharmacy's insurance company agreeing to pay $30,000 to the child's parents, Brian and Emily Croxford of Henrico, according to court records. A Richmond Circuit Court judge must approve the deal.
Croxford's hospital bills totaled $2,500, and though the overdose caused no permanent medical damage, the setback kept him from entering kindergarten on time, according to the suit. The Croxfords and their lawyer were unreachable for comment by press time.
The lawyer representing the insurance company in the case declines to comment, but the pharmacy told NBC-12 earlier this year that the drug Croxford was supposed to get — methylin, commonly prescribed to treat hyperactivity and focus problems — is stored next to methadone, and a pharmacist grabbed the wrong one.
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