Personal Injury

Two Doctors Cleared In Heath Ledger Prescription Overdose Death

The Drug Enforcement Administration says that two doctors who gave movie star Heath Ledger prescription drugs have been cleared of any wrongdoing related to the movie star’s death.

Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment of a prescription medicine overdose on January 22. An autopsy concluded that Ledger died from ingesting a combination of Vicodin, Oxycodone, tazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.

According to the medical examiner’s office, the drugs were not supposed to be taken together and doing so impaired Ledger’s ability to breathe properly. The actor fell asleep and never woke up.

Both doctors were ruled out as the sources of Vicodin and OxyContin that were found with the actor on the day of his death.

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that at least 1.5 million Americans are injured or killed because a medication mistake had been made in dispensing, prescribing, or taking a prescription drug.

The report says that mistakes are so common that a person staying at a hospital is subject to one medication error a day.

Common medication errors include:

• Writing prescriptions that can be dangerous when taken in combination with other drugs.
• Giving a patient the wrong medication.
• Giving the patient the correct drug but the wrong dosage amount.

Our Maryland and Washington D.C. personal injury law firm represents clients that have been seriously injured because of a prescription or pharmacy error. Our prescription error lawyers can determine whether you have grounds to file a case.

Federal Agents Rule Out Doctors in Heath Ledger's Death, FoxNews.com, February 29, 2008

Medication Errors Harming Millions, Report Says, Washington Post, July 21, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Actor Heath Ledger dies at 28, CNN.com, January 22, 2008

Drug Enforcement Administration

Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today.

From Maryland Accident Law Blog posted 2008-03-06.