Wrongful Death Claim In Montco Woman's Prescription Opioid Death

TOWAMENCIN TOWNSHIP, PA — The estate of a local woman who died nearly two years ago due to prescription drug toxicity, including multiple opioids, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in state court against two doctors, a pain management practice and the retail drug store chain Rite Aid.

David Bruno, suing on behalf of his deceased wife, Susan Bruno, filed his complaint in late October at Montgomery County's Court of Common Pleas over his late wife's December 2020 death.

The defendants named in the civil action are doctors Bryan J. O'Neill and Daniel L. Skubick, along with The Neurologic Group of Bucks & Montgomery County and pharmacy retailer Rite Aid.

The wrongful death claim says that Susan Bruno was under the medical care of the two doctors, while Rite Aid was the pharmacy that filled the prescriptions for the "highly addictive, dangerous and lethal opioids, and other controlled substances."

According to the complaint Susan Bruno first became a patient of The Neurologic Group of Bucks and Montgomery County back in the spring of 2009 for pain management treatment that the lawsuit claims consisted almost exclusively of the "reckless and negligent prescribing of dangerous and lethal dosages and combinations of opioids and other controlled substances," which lasted all the way to Dec. 21, 2020, two days before Susan Bruno died due to lethal doses of fentanyl and hydrocodone combined with benzodiazepines and other central nervous system depressants.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Richard J. Hollawell of Woolwich, New Jersey.

Court records show Hollawell filed the suit in Montgomery County court on Oct. 31.

The lawsuit says that from March 2009 through December 2020, O'Neill and Skubick prescribed Susan Bruno approximately 13,920 hydrocodone pills and 2,115 fentanyl patches, all concurrently.

The complaint accuses the doctors of failing to perform necessary risk assessments and screenings for contraindications and adverse events at the time Susan Bruno was under their care.

"The amounts, dosages, and combinations of fentanyl and hydrocodone, standing on their own ... were known or should have been known by Defendants to be highly addictive, dangerous and lethal," the lawsuit states.

Susan Bruno resided in Towamencin Township and was a patient of the North Wales location of The Neurologic Group of Bucks & Montgomery County.

A website for the business shows that it also has locations in Doylestown and Sellersville.

Hollawell told Patch that Susan Bruno had been seeing the doctors for chronic pain syndrome, but that the years-long course of treatment didn't do what it was intended to do.

"It never reduced her pain. It never gave her more function," Hollawell said. "It's what I see in just almost every one of my cases. It's a vicious cycle. The doctors lead somebody down this road and there's just no turning back."

In the lawsuit, Hollawell mentions the fact that the Pennsylvania Medical Society back in 2014 issued guidelines for Pennsylvania physicians to follow when prescribing opioids for chronic, non-cancer pain in light of the "unprecedented epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths throughout the country and in Pennsylvania."

National guidelines were then issued two years later by the Centers for Disease Control for doctors and pharmacies to follow, the suit states.

The complaint accuses the defendants of failing to follow both the state and federal guidelines, which the plaintiff alleges ultimately caused his wife's death.

The suit accuses Rite Aid of filling and dispensing the various prescription medications knowing the combination of pills Susan Bruno was on could be dangerous or deadly.

David Bruno found his wife unresponsive in their home on Dec. 23, 2020, after returning from work that day, and neither himself nor EMS personnel were able to revive Susan Bruno, according to the lawsuit.

Susan Bruno was 58 years old at the time of her death.

"Susan Bruno's death was due to combined drug intoxication from fentanyl, hydrocodone, bupropion, duloxetine and clonazepam which was caused by the Defendants," the lawsuit states.

The civil action contains counts of wrongful death, negligence and recklessness, as well as a survival action on the part of David Bruno, who is suing in his capacity as the administrator of his late wife's estate.

The lawsuit was filed just days after CVS, Walgreens and Walmart announced a $13.8 billion settlement in cases that accused the drug retailers of mishandling opioid pain medicine prescriptions.