Ritalin, a drug used to treat hyperactive children, is being blamed for killing a local teen. The boy's family is considering a lawsuit. Ritalin Linked to Teen Death
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger and the Oakland County medical examiner have a long history of being at odds with each other, but in this case they apparently agree with what has been written on the boy's death certificate -- that the extremely popular drug Ritalin can be fatal. Fieger is working with the Smiths to investigate the possibility of a lawsuit.
Matthew Smith, 14, had been taking three tablets every day since he was six shortly after he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. His mother said the drug worked well.
"He was more subdued, seemed more focusedand able to attend to what he was doing," Kelly Smith, Matthew's mother, said.
She had no way of knowing, though, that the Ritalin may have been destroying her son's heart. Matthew died last month after falling off a skateboard in the basement of the family's Clawson home.
At the time, it was thought to be just a freak accident, but after a careful examination, Oakland County Medical Examiner Dr. L.J. Dragovic said that was not the case.
"This is the indicator of this sudden and acute damage to the heart," he said, showing a slide of Matthew Smith's heart tissue. To the trained eye, he said the damage from the Ritalin, which is actually a stimulant, is clear.
"Over a period of time, there is a buildup of changes," Dragovic said. "Finally, these changes get to the point that they become incompatible with life."
The Smiths now plan to use that opinion for a lawsuit they have hired Fieger's firm to investigate. The Smith family hopes this sends a warning to other parents whose children take Ritalin.
Dragovic said the only way to tell if Ritalin might be taking a toll on your child's heart is if he/she often complains of palpitations or of a tightness in their chest. If you are really concerned, though, he recommends taking your child to a pediatric cardiologist for a stress test or an EKG.
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