A Florida judge has denied Walgreens’ request for a gag order on the family and the lawyer representing a mother of three, who died following a misfiled prescription at a Florida Walgreens.

Beth Hippely suffered a massive stroke after being given the wrong dosage of a powerful blood thinning medication which crippled her and forced her to stop her needed chemotherapy. She died earlier this year. Citing an interview given by the Hippelys’ lawyer, Karen Terry, in an ABC News “20/20″ story investigating pharmaceutical errors last spring, Walgreens claimed the lawyer’s actions had the effect of generating pre-trial publicity prejudicing Walgreens.

The company claimed it had a constitutional right to a “non-tainted jury pool” and requested an order “prohibiting the parties and their attorneys from engaging in pre-trial publicity prior to jury selection, and during the trial of this case.” Additionally, the motion requested the judge to “specifically prohibit the parties and their attorneys or staff from engaging in interviews or commenting about any aspect of the case before and during the trial of this matter.” In my opinion, the court was correct in denying Walgreen’s request for a gag order.

Source: ABC News

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