Pharmer.org

compared to morphine the potency of hydrocodone is 1.5, means hydrocodone is 1.5 times stronger than morphine.

bioavailability is higher than this of morphine, AFAIK to a non-  tolerant adult person, 1.0 - 2.0 mg per kilogramm bodyweight could be dangerous. maybe benzodiazepines and alcohol were consumed with the hydrocodone? too sad another young human died because of drug abuse.

that is a shame, im sorry to hear that.  how old was the kid?  you said it was your little brothers friend, so are you talking like 10, 7, beacuse for someone so young to take 4 of those pills, esp if he had never taken any opiates before, anything is possible.  like the others said everybody is different, he could have been allergic... who knows.  its just a shame to lose someone so young over 4 stupid pills.  sorry for the loss.

I was gonna say that 4 pills of oxycontin 80 or I think they even make a 160mg pill WILL kill someone who is not opiate tolerant...But for someone who has been on narcotics along time...terminal cancer patients for example....would not bother them. Sorry about you loss, a good friend of mine died of overdose a couple weeks ago.....

Ray

Remember: Just do it.. EVERY PILL  EVERY DAY

I suspect the person was not taking vicoden in the manner prescribed, and it is likely that it was not even prescribed for him.  As with many drug overdoses, multiple substances were probably involved including alcohol and benzodiazapines. 

No matter how smart your attorney is, in the unlikely event that a malpractice award exceeds the doctor's coverage, you would not be able to get his house, or his pension, his practice, or anything else, but a monitary settlement from the doctor's malpractice insurance carrier.  Even if you could force the physician into bankrupcy, the practice is usually a separate legal entity, the house is protected form bankrupcy in Florida and Texas, and in my state you can retain a 20% equity in the event of bankrupcy.  The house is often in another family member's name to protect it or owned by a LLC.  Pensions, Keogh, 401k's are not subject to bankrupcy, I believe, this was clarified in a recent supreme court decision.

People do not seem to understand what constitutes malpractice.  The doctor must deviate from the accepted standard of care, and this deviation must result in significant harm to the patient.  While death would constitute harm, it is unlikely that the doctor prescribed more thant the accepted usual dosage of 1-2 Vicoden every 6 hours.  If the doctor prescribed this dosage over a long period of time, and the patient took the maximum dosage and developed liver failure as a result to acetaminophen toxicity, then there might be basis for a suit. 

"...4 of any pill-formed narcotic will NOT kill you...."

i think that 4 pills 100 mg of non-timereleased morphine would kill someone who has no opioide / opiate tolerance. I found information that sais 0.4 - 0.5 per kg/bodyweight could be lethal when injected iv, and about 1.0 mg when taken oral.

Why would a woman who is breast feeding their kid be taking vicodin in the first place.......I wonder if she got it from a doc or off the street...>I'm sure that a doctor that has any sense would not prescribe a narcotic to someone who is either pregnant or breast feeding unless it's absolutly necessary. Im sure cases have arisen that require the use of narcotics in pregnant patients, but I would think that it would have to be an extreme case.

Ray

Remember: Just do it.. EVERY PILL  EVERY DAY

When I was pregnant with my 13 yr old, I had migraines and it would cause my blood pressure to rise so I was given Tylenol #3 for the first 5 months of my pregnancy, until the migraines stopped. I remember the doc telling me that "The benefits outweighed the risk" so she went ahead and gave me the Tylenol #3's.

KK

Some people metabolize the codones to the active metabolite very rapidly, so they are at high risk for overdose and toxicity.  What are modest doses for most people may be fatal to a rapid metabolizer.  There was a news story recently about a woman who was given vicoden for post episiotomy pain.  She took a normal dosage as directed, but her breast fed newborn died of narcotic overdose.  It turned out that she was an ultra-fast metabolizer.  People can be tested for their genetic status for codone metabolism, but it is still generally only a research tool, but it is part of the new field of genetic pharmacology.

Thats Odd. I just read the same story, accept it was CODEINE she was taking, and it was found that she had a hyperactive CYP2D6 enzyme, that is responsible for methylmorhine metabolism --> morphine.

I will have to find the link.