CINCINNATI —Randy and Carmen Crews are facing a legal and medical fight. They have a lawsuit against one of the largest retailers in the world. They accuse Kroger of a medicine mix-up they say could have cost Randy Crews, a Navy veteran and retired iron worker, his life.

Randy takes medication to control high blood pressure. In December of 2013, he received a prescription for 90 pills of labetalol, a blood pressure medicine Randy had been using for about a year. The medicine was purchased at the Kroger pharmacy on Kenard Avenue. After Crews began taking the pills, he became sick.

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Court documents show Kroger admits the wrong pills were dispensed. Randy was given lamotrigine, a medicine to treat seizures and bipolar disorder.

He started taking the medication and Randy said he had very little energy, very little strength and he couldn’t get his blood pressure down.

“By the time I took him to the doctor, he was just he was just out of it and by the time he hit the hospital, he was really sick,” Carmen Crews said.

After three or four days of taking the medicine, they inquired about the problem and Randy said they found out it was the wrong medication.

“Next thing we know, they’re saying he was looking at, it was a lot to digest in that week, we were actually looking at him having to go on dialysis,” Carmen said.

WLWT contacted the Ohio Board of Pharmacy in Columbus and was told, “All pharmacies are required to account for any drugs received, kept on hand and dispensed.”

Spokesman Jesse Wimberly described dispensing errors as rare, but serious.

“At this this time there is not a mandatory reporting in Ohio for a pharmacist to report an error in dispensing” Wimberly said.

WLWT’s investigation revealed the majority of complaints to the Pharmacy Board come directly from people like Randy and Carmen.

After looking at more than two years of court documents while preparing this story, WLWT found workers had an alert Randy was getting the wrong medication, but they overrode it.

Court documents WLWT obtained show Randy Crews was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease prior to the misfill of medication, but he said his condition deteriorated to end stage renal failure and he’s in need of a kidney transplant. He said he receives dialysis every day.

Carmen said, “This has just (it) has really impacted not just his life, but it has really impacted our lives.”

WLWT contacted Kroger and was told, “We (Kroger) cannot comment on ongoing litigation cases.”

Court documents show Kroger argues that Randy Crews’ renal failure was inevitable.

The records also show medical supplies, dialysis and the possibility of a kidney transplant, could cost the couple hundreds of thousands to several million dollars by 2019.

Randy Crews, a longtime church deacon, said he’s holding on to his faith.

He said, “I believe in God and Carmen and I pray often and I believe I’m going to make it through this ordeal.”

The Ohio Pharmacy Board said the onus for dispensing the correct medication falls solely on the pharmacist.

However, customers can protect themselves by double-checking their medication before leaving the pharmacy.

The case is set to go to trial before a jury on Sept. 6. Randy Crews is currently on a kidney transplant waiting list.

Anyone interested in becoming a donor should contact the Christ Hospital transplant center.