Transcript
David Mattingly: He lives behind concrete walls and steel bars. But Eric Cropp isn't sure if he's a criminal, a victim, or both.
Are you a killer?
Eric Cropp: No.
DM: In 2006 Eric Cropp was a pharmacist at a Cleveland hospital where two year old cancer patient Emily Jerry was killed by the medical error of a pharmacy technician. She was given a chemotherapy drug mixed with a salt solution 23 times more concentrated than the normal dose. But because Eric Cropp was the supervising pharmacist and should have caught the mistake, he was sent to jail. And that's where I found him, confused and struggling with regret.
Do you think it was your fault?
EC: In a way, sometimes. Because I've been called everything, in the media, and the way my coworkers treated me...it's been hard.
DM: But not as hard as it has been for Emily Jerry's mom.
Kelly Jerry: She used to go up and down the slide...her swing was in the middle, it was still one of those child safety swings.
DM: After Emily's death, Kelly Jerry pushed for new laws in Ohio requiring new training and certification for pharmacy workers. And she was in the courtroom when the judge handed down Cropp's sentence.
What kind of message do you hope is being sent by that conviction?
KJ: That patient safety needs to be first and foremost on everybody's list.
DM: Is this going to make for fewer mistakes or more mistakes?
EC: I think it's going to be the same mistakes, they're just gonna be covered up better.
DM: Cropp says the mistake that killed Emily Jerry came on a day when he was overloaded and rushed. These are common complaints through the nation's healthcare system, and patient safety advocates warn that cases like this might actually make it harder to change the conditions where tragic errors like this are made.
Michael Cohen: People are going to be afraid to come forward and identify problems they've been involved with, because of fear: of losing their license, or in this case, even criminal charges brought against you.
DM: Michael Cohen of the Institute for Safe Medical Practices was among experts sending letters to the judge, calling Cropp an easy target. Saying, the greater good is served by focusing on system issues that allow tragedies like this to happen. But in the court's eyes, Cropp had no excuse for missing the mistake that killed Emily Jerry. He's serving six months for involuntary manslaughter.
EC: I mean, I have the stigma now, I've fallen, I've hurt somebody...it's hard.
DM: Terms of Cropp's probation will include speaking publicly, telling the story of caution to others in healthcare. He will never work as a pharmacist again. David Mattingly, Cleveland, CNN.
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May 9th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
[...] errors, when they occur, is an enormous setback for the patient safety movement in our nation. Read this CNN story describing the negative impact this had on the patient safety movement. This entry was posted in News. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: [...]
November 30th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
why only 6 months? he killed a child…What’s wrong with a system?