There is no way a person can master how to treat every possible illness that may attack his or her body, nor do people fully understand how much of certain drugs to take for various medical conditions. This is why patients trust their doctors to treat and properly prescribe medicine to them in Maryland. If a doctor betrays their trust and ends up causing a patient to overdose due to prescribing too much medicine, the family who are left behind may understandably feel let down and experience a combination of grief and anger.
In a recent out-of-state case, a former doctor has been sued. The 71-year-old allegedly prescribed large amounts of muscle relaxers along with anxiety drugs and painkillers. This caused eight different patients to overdose. In addition, another patient reportedly died in a car crash after taking drugs prescribed by the doctor.
The husband of one of the patients filed the lawsuit after his wife died due to drug toxicity. She had been prescribed 600 pills. He claimed that the doctor did not properly care for the patients.
When a doctor does not exercise a reasonable amount of care while prescribing medications to patients, the family who loses a loved one as a result of an overdose reserves the right to file a wrongful death medical malpractice claim against the physician. A successfully navigated case can result in financial restitution that can help with medical expenses and other losses associated with the incident, including funeral and burial costs. Liability must be adequately established before the court will rule in the victim's favor in Maryland.