WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida pharmacy that mixed a concoction of vitamin supplements that killed 21 elite polo horses fired a lab technician who prepared the mix after she spoke with federal investigators, according to a whistle-blower complaint filed against the business.
Sheila Harris of Ocala, Fla., claims she cooperated with Food and Drug Administration investigators in the weeks after the deaths, and her employer, Franck’s Pharmacy, then fired her for talking about the case.
“Regardless of what it was that caused the (horses’) deaths, she was retaliated against for providing accurate information, complete information to government investigators,” Harris’ attorney, Thomas Wade Young, said Friday.
The complaint, filed July 16, seeks reinstatement, unspecified compensatory damages and reimbursement for lost wages.
Franck’s denied the allegations in a statement to The Associated Press.
“Franck’s Pharmacy has been cooperating completely with the authorities since the very first moment it learned of the polo tragedy,” the statement said.
Florida’s state veterinarian, Dr. Thomas J. Holt, has blamed the horses’ deaths on an overdose of a mineral that helps muscles recover from fatigue. Holt said in April that toxicology tests showed significantly increased selenium levels.
The horses from the Venezuelan-owned Lechuza Caracas team began collapsing April 19 as they were unloaded from trailers at the International Polo Club Palm Beach before a championship match.
