Darvocet Death: Suicides and Accidental Overdoses

Cornelius Kellehar died on November 2, 2010 of sudden heart problems, three months after he was prescribed Darvon and Darvocet for undisclosed health reasons. Darvon and Darvocet are both propoxyphene-based medications used in the treatment of mild to moderate pain, and before they were banned in late 2010 were among the most widely prescribed medications in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration approved propoxyphene products for use in 1957, and they have consistently been among the most popular painkillers since.
However, Kellehar’s case is not the only one like it. Darvon and Darvocet have been linked to thousands of accidental overdoses, and since ten million people were prescribed a propoxyphene product in the year 2009 alone, the risk has been very real and very high for many people. Although consumer advocacy groups have been petitioning for a ban on the drug since 1978, the Food and Drug Administration did not take action against the product until late last year. The drug has been banned in the United Kingdom since 2005 and Europe since 2009.
Experts estimate that in the five years between the United Kingdom’s propoxyphene ban and its ban in the United States as many as 2,000 people could have died as a result of complications from taking Darvon and Darvocet. This number climbs to 10,000 when we take into account who have taken propoxyphene drugs since their introduction in the 1950s. And Darvocet is known to be deadly – propoxyphene is one of the most common medications used in assisted suicides and doctor-assisted euthanasia.
However, Cornelius Kellehar, not unlike thousands of other victims of accidental deaths related to Darvon and Darvocet, did not intend to end his life. His widow, Mary Ann Kellehar, has hired a lawyer and is seeking compensation for a wrongful death that never should have been allowed to happen.