From Bangor Maine's Daily News is the report of a woman that sustained brain damage after the methadone her doctor prescribed caused her to stop breathing during her sleep, and that she has been awarded nearly $2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
C.W., 59, of Corinth, won her lawsuit against Dr. S.W., of Jonesport, in a jury's 9-0 verdict on April 12.
Of the jury's unanimous decision, Matt Morrison, C.W.'s attorney said, "Any case with a verdict like that is beneficial because it will make doctors more careful, patients safer, and benefit the community overall in safe prescribing. Hopefully the community will be safer now than it was before."
The lawsuit was filed three years ago. The suit alleged that S.W. over prescribed methadone to the plaintiff for pain – which subsequently caused her to be deprived of oxygen and sustain brain damage.
In this his third methadone-related lawsuit, Morrison added, "I guess I would say I'm not surprised because it was the right decision and juries generally get it right in my experience. There were a lot of complex issues in this case that took awhile to get everyone's head around, but once they understood it, it was pretty clear that there was a breach in the standard of care."
Christopher Nyhan, the attorney representing S.W., had argued that the plaintiff suffered with sleep apnea and breathing problems – conditions she failed to share with her pharmacist – that occurred prior to seeking care from his client.
Nyhan further argued that C.W. wasn't entitled to receive compensation for her future lost income because she had no intention of resuming work.
In 2006 C.W. took a leave of absence from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services where she had been employed for 18 years.
In 2006 C.W.'s primary care physician, Dr. G.R., referred her to S.W. for chronic back pain treatment. S.W. gave her Prolotherapy treatment – the treatment required that she be injected near her spine, the injections would then cause inflammation and promote her healing.
Experts testified that the initial dose that S.W. prescribed was eight timed the amount recommended. Subsequently, that initial dose led her to stop breathing during her sleep 2½ days later.
Nyhan argued that the FDA agreed that S.W.'s dose – 40-mg – was within "an appropriate range." The pharmacist called to check the prescription prior to filling it and the pharmacy computer system did not detect any potential complications with the dose.
According to Morrison, due to the approximate 20 to 30 minutes that S.W.'s husband witnessed her breathing to be slow and shallow it caused her brain damage. She now has trouble multitasking and performing simple jobs.
Morrison added, "A 40-milligram dose doubles to 80 milligrams on average within four to five days, so if you don't understand that process, it's easy to overdose a patient. Some either don't understand that or ignore it."
A case of medical malpractice, by a physician or member of the medical community, is served best if you contact a medical malpractice attorney. File your lawsuit today to work towards amending what has been done.