Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Kansas Doctor
By Daniel Hawn
Published on November 28, 2005
A doctor who allegedly prescribed painkillers in a negligent manner was recently served with a wrongful death lawsuit after one of his patients died of an overdose.
Attorney Larry Wall of Wichita filed the lawsuit on behalf of Gwen Hunt, whose daughter overdosed on painkillers in late 2003. Dr. Steven Schneider and other medical personnel who work at the Haysville medical clinic are named as defendants in the case.
According to court records, between July and November 2003, Kandace Bible, 43, sought the care of Schneider for lower back pain. The lawsuit alleges that Schneider prescribed Bible the addictive and potentially deadly painkillers morphine and fentanyl, despite Bible's history of drug abuse.
On November 14, Bible died of an overdose. An autopsy revealed that her death resulted from a lethal combination of fentanyl and morphine.
Hunt's lawsuit claims that Schneider neglected warning signs that Bible was vulnerable to dependence on drugs. The suit also claims that Schneider and other doctors at the clinic did not abide by Kansas state guidelines in prescribing medications to Bible and that they did not retain accurate records for the proper management of patients.
Hunt said that her daughter had parted with her former ways and was serving in her church at the time of her death. Hunt's lawsuit seeks a minimum of $75,000 in damages.
Dr. Schneider could not be reached for comment on the medical malpractice case.
Keyword Tags: