Firefighter Sues Drug Companies: Claims Medication Made Her Gamble

ANDERSON, Ind. (Associated Press) — A former Indianapolis firefighter is suing two drug companies in federal court, saying they knew a medication she was prescribed could cause compulsive gambling but failed to act.

Kathryn Gillette is representing herself in the lawsuit that seeks $42 million in damages from Ridgefield, Connecticut-based Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and New York-based Pfizer Inc. The lawsuit was filed June 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Gillette says her doctor prescribed the Parkinson's disease drug Mirapex in 2000 to provide relief from restless leg syndrome. She tells The Herald Bulletin she began gambling compulsively in 2010 after another doctor increased her dose.

Neither drug company would comment.

A Minnesota man was awarded $8.2 million in 2008 in a lawsuit over gambling tied to Mirapex.