Finding into death of Robert Lee Braun
Deceased
ROBERT LEE BRAUN
Demographics
37y, male
Date of death
2009-12-04
Finding date
2011-08-22
Cause of death
cardiomegaly and recent ingestion of methadone
AI-generated summary
Robert Lee Braun, aged 37, died from cardiomegaly and methadone toxicity after ingesting methadone without a valid treatment permit. He was a long-term user of pain relief medication with a history of addiction. On 3 December 2009, after attending a function, he obtained methadone from a third party at a friend's residence and ingested it that evening. He deteriorated rapidly and could not be resuscitated. The autopsy revealed cardiac enlargement consistent with hypertension and methadone in blood at 0.3 mg/L. The coroner emphasised that methadone is a potentially lethal drug requiring careful medical assessment and review by authorised prescribers. This case highlights the danger of unsupervised methadone use, particularly in non-dependent individuals, and the importance of controlled dispensing and monitoring of opioid medications.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- long-term pain relief medication addiction
- unsupervised ingestion of methadone without valid treatment permit
- no medical assessment prior to methadone use
- cardiac enlargement secondary to hypertension
Coroner's recommendations
- Methadone should only be dispensed and monitored by authorised medical practitioners with careful assessment and review
Full text
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