Xanax

A new study has found that overdoses of prescription painkillers now kill more people in the U.S. each year than auto accidents do, and they have become the leader in preventable deaths in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fatal overdoses from prescription medication more than tripled to 13,800 from 1999 to 2006 in the U.S. Recent data suggest that overdoses have nearly tripled again since 2006, with at least 37,485 people killed in 2009 from taking powerful painkillers such as OxyContin, Xanax, Vicodin and others. James O. Cunningham and other Orlando personal injury attorneys are especially concerned that our state is now being called the “epicenter” of this abuse. Recently, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has indicted dozens of physicians and operators of clinics for unnecessarily prescribing these potentially lethal drugs.

Since 2001, there have been at least 37 criminal cases against doctors for medical negligence, with the vast majority of these cases involving the over-prescription of painkillers, according to Reuters, the international media outlet. However, their estimation of the scope of the problem differs sharply from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) figures, which indicate that 43 doctors were arrested for over-prescribing painkillers in 2008 alone. The DEA reports that 28 of its 226 successful convictions of doctors for over-prescribing drugs since 2003 occurred in Florida, around 12 percent of all convictions in the U.S.

Bondi has led a strike force to address the problem, and state lawmakers have responded to the challenge by recently passing a law that prevents doctors from writing prescriptions at clinics. However, critics of the new law – many of them Florida doctors – say that DEA agents are pursuing doctors because they are easier targets. They say that a very small number of irresponsible physicians are making it difficult for doctors to help patients who experience chronic pain and need the painkillers to manage it.

Regardless of which side of this argument you may be on, it is clear that our state has a serious prescription drug abuse problem and that some negligent doctors are part of the problem. If a close family member has become addicted to painkillers or has died due to an overdose, you may be entitled to seek damages in a medical negligence lawsuit. If you have questions about the law or your legal options and would like to speak with an experienced Orlando personal injury lawyer, call James O. Cunningham today at 888-425-2004 or 407-425-2000 to schedule a free consultation.

Millions of Floridians take prescription medication to reduce the effects of countless medical conditions. Pharmaceutical companies spend billions in marketing this or that drug in magazines, television, billboards and other outlets telling consumers how effective the drug is at alleviating a wide range of symptoms. But a glance at the front page of any newspaper will tell you that these prescriptions are not always safe. This Orlando Sentinel article sheds light on how dangerous some of these drugs can be.
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