An Orlando doctor was arrested for manslaughter charges relating to the 2012 death of a nurse resulting from a drug overdose, according to a June 9 article on the Orlando Sun Times website. According to the report, the doctor’s wife was arrested as well for her financial relation to highly addictive prescriptions given out by the doctor.
As written in the article, the nurse went to one of the doctor’s clinics seeking medical assistance for anxiety and back pain problems. The nurse died after taking the regimen of drugs prescribed her by the Orlando doctor.
According to the Sun Times, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement affidavit indicates that the doctor was also allegedly culpable for an overdose fatality in 2013 and another non-fatal overdose.
Why the doctor would prescribe patients drugs they didn’t need or that would be harmful to them is unclear, but if the allegations are true, the doctor’s actions could constitute medical malpractice.
The Threat of Dangerously Inappropriate Prescriptions
Physicians who prescribe the wrong drugs or drug combinations put their patients at risk of serious injury or possible death due to overdoses or other types of complications. Alternatively, if the inappropriate prescription was the result of negligence on the part of the doctor, he or she may still be civilly liable for any damage to the health of a patient from a drug injury.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help in Drug Injury Incidents
If you suspect that you or a member of your family suffered from a drug injury caused by a physician or some other form of malpractice, you may qualify for compensation for the damage to your health and quality of life. A personal injury attorney can help you secure damages for lost wages or to pay medical bills incurred in the aftermath of a drug injury such as an overdose.
McBride, Scicchitano & Leacox, P.A. – Injury Attorneys