SCRANTON – A Scranton family is asking for judicial approval of a settlement with Target, based on one of its store pharmacies allegedly dispensing more of its plaintiff daughter’s anti-anxiety medication than was necessary.
David Lavelle and Justine Lavelle (parents and natural guardians of Mackenzie Lavelle) of Scranton filed a settlement distribution petition in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas on April 24 versus Target Corporation, of Minneapolis.
The Lavelles sued Target based on an incident involving their Dickson City store’s pharmacy, in Oct. 23, 2014. According to the complaint, the plaintiffs’ daughter Mackenzie, then twelve years old, was prescribed 10 times the proper amount of Haloperidol, an anti-anxiety medication.
Mackenzie fully recovered from the resulting overdose and its severe side effects, and Target agreed to compensate her for her pain and suffering, in the amount of $12,000.00. The plaintiffs entered in a contingent fee agreement with Haggerty Hinton & Cosgrove, in which the firm would receive 25 percent of any settlement proceeds, and the firm’s costs totaled $67.00 for the case’s filing fee.
Further, the plaintiffs agreed that the $8,933.00 to be paid to Mackenzie will be deposited into a money market account, CD or other interest-bearing savings account, along with a provision that no withdrawal can be made from the account until Mackenzie reaches the age of 18.
Therefore, the plaintiffs are requesting an order be entered by the Court approving the settlement of $12,000.00 and the requested allocation of funds.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael F. Cosgrove and J. Timothy Hinton, Jr. of Haggerty Hinton & Cosgrove, in Scranton.
Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas case 17-CV-2575
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com