Utah Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Gentamicin is a powerful antibiotic that is used to treat various bacterial infections, especially those caused by gram-negative bacteria.  It belongs to a class of antibiotics called "aminoglycosides," which have proven to be effective against certain bacteria that may be resistant to other, more conventional antibiotics.

Labels: gentamicin, Medical Malpractice, pharmaceutical error

I recently posted about the dangers of opioid analgesics. Today, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that fatalities from prescription drugs occur have increased drastically since 1991, and now occur almost daily--and those are just numbers from Utah, not the whole country.

According to the article, written by Lisa Rosetta, "Utah now loses more people each year to lethal combinations of drugs--such as methadone, oxycodone and fentanyl--than it does to car crashes."

As startling as that is, what's worse is that some of these deaths may be due to careless prescriptions by physicians. The report continues:

"A recent federal study found that Utah leads the nation in the nonmedical use of prescription pain medications, with 6.5 percent of people age 12 or older having used these medications without a doctor's order in the past year....Multiple factors are driving the problem, Grey said. More prescription drugs are being doled out by doctors - as are more complicated, long-duration drugs, such as methadone. That drug, which can linger in a person's body for up to 100 hours, was implicated in many of the overdose cases, [Medical Examiner Dr. Todd] Grey said in an earlier interview. Seventy percent of those deaths occurred in either the first week the person was prescribed the drug or after their dosage was changed."

As discussed in my previous post, this is often because longer lasting drugs are replaced by fast-acting versions. This can have a "double-up" effect that results in fatal overdose.

Another part of the problem is that these drugs are aggressively marketed by their manufacturers. Often, the marketing understates or misrepresents the risks of the drug. For instance, the makers of OxyContin were recently fined $634.5 million for intentionally understating the risk of addiction. Nevertheless, in exchange for various perks from pharmaceutical sales reps, physicians will take patients off of one drug, and replace it with a different brand. But if a physician does so without appreciating the possible interim reactions during the transition, and someone is injured or dies as a result, it is medical malpractice.

Unfortunately, as the Tribune article points out, "David Sundwall, the state's health department director, said prescribing strong painkillers - and for long periods of time - has become the standard of care."

What that means is that more and more doctors are prescribing greater quantities of these dangerous drugs. If you suspect that a loved one has died because of complications related to prescription painkillers, you deserve some answers. The Utah medical malpractice lawyers at G. Eric Nielson & Associates can give them to you. Call us at (801) 424-9088, or toll free at (866) 605-4556 to speak with an attorney at no cost. You can also contact us online to schedule a free, confidential consultation today.

Labels: dangerous drugs, pharmaceutical error

Analgesic drugs are commonly used to relieve pain. Some analgesics, such as aspirin and acetaminophen, are relatively mild and are available over the counter.

Other analgesics, however, are powerful narcotics, and are available only with a prescription. Some common prescription analgesics include morphine and codeine, which are naturally occurring opiates; hydrocodone (Vicodin and Lortab) and oxycodone (OxyContin and Percocet), which are semi-synthetic opioids; and fully synthetic opioids, such as Fentanyl and Methadone. Under the close supervision of health care providers, these drugs can play an important part of a patient's pain management regimen.

Unfortunately, these drugs can also cause serious side effects, from nausea and constipation to respiratory arrest and even death. Additionally, due to their narcotic nature, there is a high propensity for addiction and abuse. Over-prescribing these drugs, or improperly supervising a patient's pain management regimen, can cause serious personal injuries and give rise to medical malpractice claims.

Sometimes, careless physicians can transition patients from one narcotic painkiller to another, with disastrous consequences. For instance, Methadone is metabolized very slowly, and has a half-life of 15-60 hours. Additionally, it is fat soluble, and can remain in your system longer than other drugs. Likewise, OxyContin, a popular brand of oxycodone, is formulated to be released over time (the name is an abbreviation of Oxycodone Continuous release). When a patient is taken off of a "slow" drug and transitioned to a fast acting, instant release version, overdose can easily occur. The results of overdose can include respiratory arrest, anoxic brain injuries, or even wrongful death.

The Utah Medical Malpractice Lawyers at G. Eric Nielson & Associates are experienced in handling products liability and medical malpractice cases involving narcotics and pharmaceuticals. We work closely with a team of pharmacologists, toxicologists, and medical doctors to determine whether patients have been injured by dangerous drugs, medical negligence, or pharmacist error. If you or someone you know has been injured because of addiction, overdose, or death, contact the attorneys at G. Eric Nielson & Associates for a free consultation today. Remember, Medical Malpractice is All We Do.

Labels: dangerous drugs, pharmaceutical error