wrongful death ? or malpractice ?

What is the name of your state? colorado a family member was being treated for depression, in a clinical trial of an investigationable study anti-depressant ,he was experiencing all side effects of the study drug. his instructions for participating in study, said he couldn't take vitamins.aspirin,caffiene,or alcohol,and no other drugs while on this trial medication. it also said if experiencing side effects,he would be pulled off study and medication,instead he was given valium,on top of trial drug, he ended up taking his own life, 4 weeks into the study,valium is not to be taken with anti-depressants, i would think especially not with a trial drug.there are some mitigating factors involved,but isn't there negligence, on dr.s' part as to this mixture of drugs?on my initial contact with the dr.,his first remark to me was the drug didn't make him take his life. his coworkers disagree,and said his state of mind was not good on said drug, any recourse

From what you say you do appear to be right. The family has a good reason to investigate the death. Who was this doctor who prescribed the Valium? Was the doctor part of the study or just the patient's physician? These two factors will be important in a malpractice case.
Studies for the newly untried drugs are generally supervised, and all the physicians engaged in the study are required to submit reports to someone who is supervising the study, often a university medical school department head who has a grant from the pharmceutical house. If the doctor who gave valium is a member of the study groiup, then the study and all the partricipants in it will become defendants. If on the other hand the patient continues seeing his private doctor who is outside the study, and who prescribes Valium, the private doctor becomes the defendant.
Once you decide who is responsible then you can proceed to sue. You give the outline of the basis for a lawsuit. The family should see a malpractice lawyer who has some record of success in drug cases, especially the drugs involved in a study such as the one you discuss. The lawyer's problem is going to be finding experts who are not involved in similar studies and who are not aligned with the groups who routinely run studies on grants from pharmaceutical houses. Those doctors hired to proive that new medicine is the greatest thing since the wheel are often so happy to get a big grant that everything thereafter becomes jolly good. But go see some lawyers and when you find one willing to take the case, you may see some justice. Someone needs to correct the practice of paying biased individuals to run studies that should be done by the FDA and impartial FDA employees.

the dr. that was prescribing the meds, is listed on his "consent to participate" forms,as "principal investigator" the study location is listed at his "health research center" the study is sponsored by an incorporation. in the "consent" pages they stated that "suicide" was a risk of uncontrolled depression, ironic isn't it!

See a lawyer. After he does a little investigating he may go ahead with a lawsuit. If he doesn't try another lawyer. If this guy was the chief investigator for this drug, and if he was doing this research at "his health center" he may not have the training to conduct this kind of research. These studies are usually done at university medical schools where some kind of supervision is provided. Of course if the university doesn't supervise the study, this kind of bungling could still occur.That doctor MUST have known that Valium was not to be used with this medicine. If he did not, he had no business running the study. I suspect he is a psychiatrist and has little training in medicines.

This story is unbelievable and really ticks me off.
Valium can be said to be @%!*$*&%@ contraindicated in depression. Remember that. Get a good attorney and
go for the jugular. Sorry about your loss.



hmmbrdzz

yes, you are correct, he is . and i'm giving you a bear hug right now!can ya feel it? thank you so very much for your time and opinion. god bless your sweet soul.. i can't tell you what a relief it is to know there are people caring and sharing for & with others out of the goodness of their hearts ! thank you again! and my heart hugs you ,jack s.

thank you hmmbrdzz,and bless all of you kind people who take the time to help others in need

Thank you rufusbuford, and you hang in there.

hmmbrdzz

[ellencee]

I would like to hear an opinion from one of the site's attorneys as regards this topic; whether or not it implies a negligence by participating physicians if an additional medication results in damages (including death), when in the normal practice of medication prescribing it would be negligent, yet in this trial, the effects of prescribing a concurrent medication would still be considered trial with unknown results. Do the same standards of prescribing apply in trial situations with unknown results?

Because I take 'experimental' treatments for lupus, I receive drug trial offers about twice a year. These offers include up to 20 pages of information about the drug, the consequences of participating in the trial, etc. Numerous times throughout the drug-trial offer, it states that death may result from the drug, drug interaction with prescription or over-the-counter medications, or from the absence of taking 'usually prescribed' medications; and further states that by participating in the study that 'I' and 'my heirs' release the drug company, participating physicians or hospitals, etc. from any and all liability for damages to my personal health and well-being, including death.

Now that the question has been raised on this site; I'd like to read an attorney's opinion, not that I intend to participate in a trial; I'd just like to know.

Thanks,
EC

there were 7 pages total on & about this study,1 page of which ,listed possible and most common side effects. most common: lightheadedness ,dizziness, nausea, headache, and insomnia. death was only listed as a risk of uncontrolled depression. "if anyof the above or other unforseen events, occurs,and becomes intolerable or severe,my study drug will be temporarily or permanently stopped. this study dr.will monitor me for any side effects that may occur."my brother had told them about the ones (all) that he was experiencing,(i have a registered letter they sent admitting they were aware of it) when he failed to make his last apptmnt. which was scheduled for the same day he was found dead.allergic reaction, and "since drugs that effect the nervous system,can effect judgement,thinking &coordination,caution operating machinery etc.

as with many other drugs the potenial for(------) drug name. to interact with other drugs is a possibility. he had to tell them of any other meds presribed or vitamins, or even aspirin he was taking, he was taking none.he had said he'd had roughly, 7 or so hours sleep in 3 weeks because of the study drug,i guess that's why the valium was given to him . if they had to know about vitamins and aspirin he might have been taking , that to me, says, they couln't know how other drugs interacted with their med. and you'd think since valium ,also effects the central nervous system, (depresses it) they wouln't want to second guess on the effect of such a mix ,death (suicide) was only mentioned as a risk, if depression went untreated. this dr. told me ," unfortunatley" it takes 8 weeks to get results from the med. yet his own letter admitted he knew of the side effects my brother was experiancing. so they knew some effect was occuring (good,or bad) in the 3rd & 4th week correct?? he started on 8/20/02 and was taken from us by 1 day short of 30 days later

Have you seen a lawyer yet? Stop gathering information and go to a lawyer now. You mention "adverse reaction" in your last notes. Go see a lawyer, please.

i'm looking now, as mine doesn't handle that type of case. any advice on one ? what to keep in mind or look for in one for such a case? thank you most sincerely

You have a lawyer? Ask him to help you find a malpractice lawyer. He ought to be delighted to help you because he can earn some money. He has directories that he can go through to lcate a good lawyer for you.
If you do not have a lawyer you can buy my book, Then Why Does It Still Hurt? and follow the suggestions in it, or better yet, ask your library to get a copy from Booksurge.com. Then other people can read it too.