KY: Methadone Death Suit Leads to Increased Scrutiny of Clinics August 11, 2005
News Summary
The family of a methadone patient who died at a Kentucky clinic recently won $2.8 million in damages, and the case has prompted the state to begin tracking such deaths, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Aug. 10.In the jury trial in Perry County court, Hazard Professional Services Inc. was ordered to pay $2.8 million to the family of Jason Caldwell, 21. The wrongful-death suit alleged that the clinic overprescribed methadone to Caldwell, who had sought treatment for an addiction to OxyContin. Caldwell died five days after entering the program.
State officials say they get reports of about five deaths annually from methadone clinics, but "there is no investigation process for the state with the death of a client," said Mac Bell, administrator for the State Narcotic Authority.
Bell said his agency, which oversees methadone clinics in Kentucky, will begin keeping track of deaths among the 1,000 or so methadone patients in the state. "Now, since we've gotten so large, we are in the process -- and have been for the last year -- of implementing a data-collection system that will look at mortality and morbidity rates in our state," Bell said.
Lawyers for the Caldwell family said the clinic prescribed too much methadone too quickly. But the clinic maintained that Caldwell was taking methadone bought from street dealers on top of the drugs he received from the program.
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