Carlin family praises suicide inquest results
June 28, 2010
Liam Casey
STAFF REPORTER
When Sara Carlin killed herself in the basement of her family home in Oakville 2007, she was 18 years old. On Monday, a coroner’s inquest concluded that the cause of death was “hanging by ligature while affected by depression, cocaine and ethanol.”
The five-member jury also issued 16 recommendations, which included the creation of a province-wide drug information system, a provincial and national suicide prevention program and a national independent drug safety board, which would report to Parliament.
Despite the emotional toll of the inquest, the Carlin family believes it was worth it.
“We’re truly confident that if these (recommendations) are acted upon, there will be young lives saved down the road,” said Neil Carlin, Sara’s father.
He is especially pleased with another recommendation: guidelines for physicians when prescribing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a drug that regulates serotonin levels within the brain.
“We’re ecstatic,” said Carlin. “If these things had been in place when Sara was prescribed Paxil, she’d be alive today.”
The Carlin family blames the drug Paxil for their daughter’s suicide. Sara Carlin was on the GlaxoSmithKline antidepressant for 14 months before she killed herself on May 6, 2007. She also had alcohol and cocaine in her system at the time of her death.
“If they didn’t think Paxil was involved with this, why would they be recommending practice guidelines spelling out what doctors should do before putting kids on Paxil?” Carlin said.
Before deliberations began last Tuesday, Dr. Bert Lauwers, the coroner overseeing the inquest, instructed jurors not to lay blame or legal responsibility. Experts testified during the inquest that Paxil did not play a role in Sara Carlin’s suicide
“If those recommendations are implemented, the number of deaths will drop dramatically,” said Oakville MP Terence Young, whose daughter, Vanessa, died after complications arose after taking Prepulsid, a gastrointestinal drug, and an eating-disorder drug. Young has a bill before Parliament similar to the independent drug safety board recommendation made by the jury.
GlaxoSmithKline will carefully review the jury’s recommendations for pharmaceutical companies, said Teresa Walsh, counsel for the company. “The recommendations, we felt, certainly reflect two of the prevalent themes at this inquest, the complexity of dealing with mental health issues and the importance of having a suicide prevention strategy,” she said.
Michael Blain, the coroner’s counsel, is pleased with three of the recommendations: the drug information system for Ontario, the provincial suicide prevention strategy and physician guidelines, which he said will ensure “the best care for their patients.”
The bodies involved now have one year to report their progress, if any, to the coroner’s office, but they aren’t legally obligated to follow the recommendations.
“It leaves us with the sense that we tried to do something. We didn’t leave it for the next one. And that’s what I’m proud of my family for doing,” Carlin said before he choked up and wiped tears from his eyes.
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