Painkiller abuse is nothing new under the sun, however the accidental over dosages that are leading to deaths are a growing concern with the usage of the active ingredient of oxycodone which is found in Percocet’s, OcyContin and hydrocodone. According to reports from the 2005 to 2011 there has been a 65% increase in fatal over dosages over the prescription painkiller.
Though a prescription, this opioid is considered to be chemically and biologically comparative to a heroin type drug, and has the ability to quickly lead to addictions and over dosages. The Health Commissioner of Staten Island, NY Thomas Farley claims that due to the extreme dangers that these drugs present to patients, it is imperative that both doctors and patients are made more aware of the risks there are to taking the chemical.
The Health Department is seeing to do what they can to educate both doctors and dentists in order to warn them of the potential risks of the prescriptions, and one of the ways they are going to implement change is to encourage them to write prescriptions for less days to the patient. By cutting the prescription time, there will be less of a chance that the patient will be come addicted to the drug, and in some cases they may not even realize that it is happening, which is why it can be so dangerous.
Failure to warn patients about the dangerous of addictions and side effects can lead to life altering damages, and in this case, the possibility of fatalities. If you have recently lost a loved one due to the accidental over dosage of this form of drug, there is a possibility that you may have a case for wrongful death if the death was due to lack of knowledge about the dangers of the prescription.
Contact the Whitley Law Firm today to discuss your situation with a Raleigh personal injury lawyer today, and together we will determine whether or not you have a case.
