Deceased
Marianne Steer
Demographics
56y, female
Date of death
2017-09-23
Finding date
2020-05-19
Cause of death
combined drug toxicity (methadone, diazepam, amitriptyline and mirtazapine); pulmonary hypertension and damaged lungs contributed
AI-generated summary
Marianne Steer, 56, died from combined drug toxicity involving methadone, diazepam, amitriptyline, and mirtazapine. She had a long history of substance dependence and had voluntarily ceased methadone treatment five months prior to death. She obtained methadone illegally and injected it intravenously—a highly dangerous practice she had engaged in for years. The coroner found her death accidental, not intentional. While her treating doctors had prescribed diazepam and other CNS depressants, the primary cause was the illicitly obtained methadone combined with prescribed medications. The coroner noted that although prescribing practices warrant general scrutiny, there was insufficient causal connection to warrant formal investigation of her own doctors' decisions. Key clinical lesson: methadone takeaway prescriptions require strict adherence to guidelines; supervised dosing should be the norm, with takeaway doses only exceptional.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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