KinSource - Tale of the Week - A Physician's Mistake

KinSource

Minnesota Tales

The St. Paul Daily Globe, January 20, 1885, p. 4

A PHYSICIAN'S MISTAKE

Dr. McGrail, of Minneapolis. Carelessly Mixes His Medicine Bottles Up,

And Prescribes Tincture of Aconite, Instead of Prickly Ash, for Two Young Men.

One of Them Discovered in Time, and the Whole City Looking for the Other.

Special Telegram to the Globe.

Minneapolis, Jan.19. -- Dr. McGrail is a physician associated with Dr. Spinney, the well known specialist, who has his office at No. 37 Third street south. This evening about 7 o'clock the doctor prescribed for two young men who were under treatment for constitutional diseases. In compounding the prescription he used for the vehicle or principal ingredient what he supposed was a tincture of prickly ash. After the young men had been gone a few minutes the physician made the horrifying discovery that by mistake he had used

TINCTURE OF ACONITE

instead of prickly ash, the former drug being a deadly poison. He rushed into the street bareheaded, but the young men were not to be seen. Half beside himself he ran to the American District telegraph and relating the circumstances, offered large rewards for the finding of the men. The full force of messenger boys was at once sent, and the work of searching the city was begun without an instant of delay. The doctor next informed the police department, and the news was telephoned to all the patrols with instructions to do their utmost to find the men. In addition a number of men were provided with carriages and sent out. The city detectives added two more to the force of searchers. In short no step possible was left untaken to prevent fatal consequences from the physician's error. One of the young men was

JOSEPH FELLOWS,

a carpenter residing on Eighth street north, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth avenues. He was found within fifty minutes by a district telegraph messenger boy and notified not to take the medicine. The other patient is a young man who gave his name to the doctor as

CHARLES JOHNSON,

and up to midnight all efforts to find him have been unavailing. The name, such a common one, is the great obstacle encountered. In the directory there are forty-one plain Charles Johnsons, and six of the same name with other initials. The city has been divided into four districts, and slips, containing the following information placed in the hands of the searchers:

"Chas. Johnson, aged about twenty-two years, who obtained a prescription at Dr. Spinney's office to-night, is notified not to take the medicine, as it contains aconite, a deadly poison. If already taken gargle with salt and water and send immediately for a doctor."

The manner in which Dr. McGrail made the mistake was a follows: The bottles containing aconite and prickly ash tinctures were the same in size and shape. The former was very rarely, if ever, used and was kept on a top shelf in the dispensary. The latter was kept on a lower shelf. In cleaning the shelves recently the aconite was inadvertantly placed on the lower shelf, near the place occupied by the bottle containing the prickly ash. The doctor's mistake was, of course; then a very easy matter. Whether the consequences are fatal or not he is certainly to be credited with doing every thing possible to prevent the

DEATH OF EITHER

of his patients. Neither he nor Dr. Spinney gave the slightest thought to the damaging effect likely to result in their professional reputation and have circulated the news as widely as possible. Dr. McGrail has remained in the American District telegraph office constantly, receiving reports and sending out messages. The a GLOBE reporter he said:

The mistake was one of these occurances which seemed preordained. I cannot see how it happened, and I felt that it was entirely due to carelessness, but I was careful in preparing the prescription and have not made a mistake before for twenty years. The thought that I may have caused a young man's death is almost maddening, but I mean to bear the consequences without any equivocation. To give ten years of my life or all I ever will have in the world to know now that Charlie Johnson has been found in time. I have great hopes that he may be found, especially as the medicine was not to be taken until after breakfast. The great fear I have is that he may possibly take it to-night and go to bed. If so he will probably die. If he takes it in the morning he will be noticed probably, and a remedy may be at hand to save him. Possibly his address is not in the directory, and perhaps he gave a fictitious name, as some do who are being treated for such diseases. He seemed to be a young man, who, I would judge, was employed in a shop or factory. Aconite acts upon the neumo gastric nerve and paralyzes the action of the heart. It is especially liable to prove fatal where there is any cardiac affection.

NOTIFYING THE JOHNSONS.

Up to 2 a. m. no trace has been discovered of Chas. Johnson. An effort is now being made to notify persons named Johnson in the city, and as the directory contains 980 persons of that name, the task is a hard one. Dr. McGrail is having handbills printed to circulate about the streets and shops, asking everybody to insist in warning Johnson not to take the medicine he obtained at Dr. Spinney's office. In the meantime the search is being kept up.

The St. Paul Daily Globe, January 21, 1885, p. 6

CHARLEY JOHNSON FOUND.

The Young Man to Whom Aconite Poison was Given by Mistake, Alive.

All night and up to yesterday noon the search for Charley Johnson, the young man to whom Dr. McGrail had given aconite poison by mistake, instead of medicine, was kept up. Dodgers were circulated from border to border of the city, and hackmen and the dis-trict telegraph messenger boys were kept actively scouring every precinct.

FOUND AT LAST.

Shortly after noon the Charley Johnson to see whom in sound health, Dr. McGrail would gladly of given ten years of his life on Monday night, came walking into the doctor's office to the great joy of the doctor. The young man explained that he had taken a large dose of the drug before retiring at the Garfield house the previous night and before eating breakfast swallowed another. He then went to his room and at dinner time took a third dose. While dining he picked up a GLOBE and read of the search for him, and to his astonishment learned that he had been taking deadly poison. Naturally he went directly to his physician.

Dr. McGrail states that the aconite which was several years old, and which he seldom used, must have evaporated until it had not sufficient strength to cause fatal results from swallowing it.

Another theory, and a very plausible one it seems, is that Dr. McGrail was himself in error as to from what bottle he put up the prescription, and that he actually gave the patient the medicine he had intended at first, getting the two bottles mixed afterwards, leading to his confusion.