Medical Malpractice Leads To Tragedy

As we tuned into the news just two days ago, we saw that it happened again. It seems that everywhere we turn there is a lack of accountability that invariably leads to tragedy. Take the case of seven year old Gabriel Myers. Little Gabriel hung himself this week in the shower of his foster home. Why would such a young boy take his own life? Apparently, in the weeks before his death, Gabriel had been prescribed powerful mind-altering medications that have been linked by federal regulators to an increased risk of suicide in children. It has been discovered that Gabriel had been prescribed four psychiatric drugs, two or three of which he was taking at the time of his death, according to the report. The story went on to reveal three of the those psychotropic drugs carry U.S. Food and Drug Administration ''black box'' label warnings for children's safety which is the strongest advisory that federal agency issues. Three of the medications are not approved for use with young children yet they are still widely prescribed to youngsters ''off label'' -- meaning doctors can prescribe the drug even if not formally approved for that use.

But it gets worse. It appears Gabriel was being treated by a Broward psychiatrist who is on a list of Florida doctors that the state Agency for Health Care Administration red-flagged as having ''problematic'' prescribing practices. This according to Robert Constantine, director of AHCA's Medicaid Drug Therapy Management Program. ACHA tracks the prescribing of psychiatric drugs to children. Their list flags doctors with a high volume of prescriptions of mental-health drugs or potentially dangerous combinations of the medications.

Dr. Sohail Punjwani has been on that list every quarter in which regulators have monitored the prescribing of psychotropic drugs since the program was created in 2006. The practices of about 17,000 Florida doctors who prescribe medications to children on Medicaid are studied every quarter, and about 300 to 450 of those are red-flagged.

While it is unknown whether these medications should or should not have been prescribed, physicians have a responsibility to inform patients and/or their families of any known potential side effects of these medications. It has been our firm’s experience that all too often, patients are not informed of potential adverse effects of medications that have been prescribed for them. Predictably, this many times has catastrophic results.

We believe that there are two key steps that will curb the tide of similar tragedies. First, patients need to be informed and thus, empowered. Each patient should do their own research and get second (and third!) opinions before they begin taking prescriptions. Ask about side effects and the long term impact of taking certain drugs. Second, physicians and pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable for their actions. We believe that the penalties for such negligence should be stiff and swift. They must be called to task for their irresponsible actions. Education and accountability are the keys to prevent other children like Gabriel from facing such a tragic end.