A Dallas suburb’s mayor and her daughter are dead, and fentanyl pain patches found in the aftermath — while not blamed — have drawn attention to the powerful narcotic.

A medical examiner’s autopsy report was just released in the deaths of Coppell, TX Mayor Jayne Peters, 55, and daughter Corinne Peters, 19.  Both were found dead of gunshots at their home on July 13. The daughter’s death was ruled a homicide by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office, while the mother’s death was deemed “consistent” with being a “self-inflicted act.”

The medical examiner also indicated that Mayor Peters was using two fentanyl pain patches on her back. Such patches deliver a powerful narcotic that’s sometimes used for chronic pain.

Defective fentanyl pain patches, sometimes called Duragesic pain patches, have resulted in the overdose deaths of hundreds of Americans, and in 2005 the Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory about them. Since then, more than 30 million defective fentanyl pain patches have been recalled.

Such pain patches, often used by cancer patients, in addition have been linked to suicide risks. The narcotic they deliver, fentanyl, also is highly addictive, and using too much of it can prove fatal. Overdoses occur when a defective pain patch delivers too much fentanyl.

In the Coppell mayor’s case, the Medical Examiner report indicated no sign of fentanyl in her system, despite the fact that she was wearing two fentanyl pain patches. Thus, fentanyl does not appear to have been a factor in the tragedy.

But this high-profile case does offer reminders of fentanyl being a powerful and dangerous narcotic of which Americans must be wary.

If you or a loved one has been harmed due to a defective fentanyl pain patch, alert a defective drugs lawyer or defective medical device attorney for assistance.

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