ROTTEN TOMATOES: Ledger's Death Ruled Accidental Prescription Overdose

Ledger's Death Ruled Accidental Prescription Overdose

Combination of multiple prescribed drugs felled young actor.

by Jeff Giles | February 07, 2008

According to the New York City medical examiner's office, Heath Ledger's cause of death has been determined as an accidental overdose of "painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs."

In a statement released yesterday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove attributed Ledger's death to "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine." According to the Associated Press, "the drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom."

Although Ledger's death is being ruled an accidental overdose, it's being stressed that he apparently didn't take more of any of the listed medications than he was supposed to; as Borakove puts it, "What you're looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together." Ledger's family released the following statement in response to the news:

"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."

Source: Associated Press

Related Items

Celeb:

Heath Ledger

(1-20 of 34 posts) | Reply

Mr. Bowler writes:
on Feb 07 2008 05:45 AM

Good. The media would have dragged it through the mud even more had it been non-accidental.

(Reply to this)

OperaGhost21 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 05:48 AM

I'm very glad it was accidental. The media needs to leave his family and friends alone so they can mourn in peace.

(Reply to this)

TigrisPeter writes:
on Feb 07 2008 07:12 AM

Accidental or not the dead stay dead.

(Reply to this)

calbear526 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 07:32 AM

In reply to this comment (#1559851)
Thanks TigrisPeter. You've really added to the conversation.

None of us would have known otherwise that the dead stay dead.

(Reply to this)

Kollikodon writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:00 AM

Yeah, throughout all of this ive hoped it was an accident, for his family and friends sake.. the media wouldnt have let this fade away... he will be remembered for his movies rather then the fact that he killed himself..

RIP

(Reply to this)

clamman27 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:04 AM

Doesn't anyone tell their doctor everything they're taking before getting drugs prescribed? I always love in commercials for drug ads when they say that. Shouldn't your doctor already know since he prescribed them?

Sadly this will continue to happen again, and again, and again as long as we continue to live in a here take this to fix this kind of society.

(Reply to this)

clamman27 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:05 AM

In reply to this comment (#1559851)
The zombie in my basement begs to differ...........

(Reply to this)

Superzone writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:05 AM

Thank God it wasn't suicide. Had it been suicide (or murder I suppose), the media wouldn't have shut up about it for weeks if not months. He's passed away and there's obviously nothing that can change that so let's just drop it.

Ledger was a great actor and he will be missed, but at least he died in one of these least painful ways.

(Reply to this)

theginsengtree writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#1559911)
I agree, this definitely solidifies his legacy in a positive, constructive light. It's always harder, at least for me, to accept a non-accidental or non-prescription drug related death because it always seems that the individuals involved defied fate somehow and went before they should have. It's easier now that we know Heath enjoyed using his talents and was happy enough in the world not to risk his life unnecessarily.

(Reply to this)

deneco4 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:40 AM

how the **** do you "accidently" take 10 pills? I ask you, how the ****?

The other day I accidently ate a whole box of trader joes rasberry sticks and then got the ****s. Now there was what I call an "intentional accident".

But hey, i guess the doctors that perscribed them didnt know each other right? Or was it just 1 doctor giving him **** loads of pills and saying "dont take them all at once."

He went out like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky.

(Reply to this)

thereign writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:45 AM

I always figured his death was accidental...as usual, the media had to try and over-hype it, wondering about his "secret problems" and "hidden pain", etc. Maybe now they(and all the asinine posters here who rushed to judgment, calling him a "druggie") can finally SHUT THE F**K UP!!

(Reply to this)

Ne0x1ty writes:
on Feb 07 2008 08:47 AM

This is totally avoidable... Any doctor that prescribes medicine will know the previous drugs someone is taking. The pharmacist will know what interactions are taking place and in most cases call the primary doctor up...

There are precautions in place so people don't go to one doctor and get a bottle of oxycotin then go to another doctor to get another bottle... So, there should have been something where any one in the chain of medical people that would have seen what he's taking.

This is a shame and a travesty that Ledger died. RIP.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Feb 07 2008 09:52 AM

In reply to this comment (#1560050)
Around and around we go with folks trying to assume some kind of pseudo omniscience. Read the article again, my friend. At no point did it say that he "accidentally took ten pills". It is ruled as an accidental overdose, period. Beyond that, you know nothing. Certainly not enough to conclude that it was an "intentional accident," certainly not enough to make your Vanilla Sky comment in anything resembling good faith.

Is murder possible? Sure. Is suicide? Always. But just because these things are possible does not make them probable. And Ledger, considering what we know about his character, his ambitions, his integrity, at least deserves the benefit of the doubt. If there was a screw up, it's likely a screw up made by the medical professionals involved. It's certainly an assumption that makes more sense than rushing to the judgment that a man at the peak of his career, who loved his work, his family, his two year old daughter, would intentionally take his own life.

And, I humbly submit, so what if it was suicide?! Who among us know the trouble that he saw? We see but the fame, the glory, the money, not the depths of his soul. We can only see what he tried to show us through his work. And even then, few people truly know themselves! Knowing thyself is a lifelong journey, not a comfortable conclusion explained away by facts and pontifications.

(Reply to this)

weege77 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 10:03 AM

It appeared he got some prescriptions in Europe and some in NY. So it may be difficult for the multiple doctors to know everything he's taking. So something failed in communication. Either in Heath not fully disclosing or doctor's not inquiring enough about all the prescriptions.

Either way, a great talent is lost and a more importantly a loving father.

(Reply to this)

Dinobot77 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 10:44 AM

Although the final outcome of the toxicology report could not have been better, it still does not bring back the man. I am extremely happy though that the media can lay-off his family and Warner Brothers does not have to change their marketing strategy as aggresively. Now the focus can be on the man's life and work.

There is one thing that upsets me though. If you think about it, Ledger did not technically overdose, even though that is the terminology being used. He didn't take multiples of one specific pill. He took a combination of what was prescribed to him which ultimately created a deadly chemical within his system. Subsequently, in theory, you could make the arguement that Ledger died of medical poisoning. I understand that this is neither here nor there at this stage in the game; but this argument still sounds a lot better than "accidental overdose". IMO

If everything goes right behind closed doors, the NYPD will continue to investigate the prescribers of those medications. They will attempt to see if there was any malpractice involved. I hope they follow through with their investigation though.

R.I.P Heath ~ Your talents and love for your family will be missed many times over.

(Reply to this)

MiskatonicWest writes:
on Feb 07 2008 11:16 AM

In reply to this comment (#1559851)
such a smart comment

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Feb 07 2008 11:36 AM

In reply to this comment (#1559877)
Yes and Life is for the living my friend and I'm sure after the hurt dims a bit his loved ones will appreciate that he didn't take his own life.

(Reply to this)

Dinobot77 writes:
on Feb 07 2008 11:58 AM

*****UPDATE*****

According to CNN, both the FDA and the Attorney General's Office are now launching an investigation into Ledger's death. They are going to investigate how he received so many prescriptions at one time.

(Reply to this)

hellraiserlvr writes:
on Feb 07 2008 12:23 PM

I've lurked on rottentomatoes for years, but this is the first time I've been moved to post a comment.

Any death is a tragegy. I agree that whether it was accidental or suicide, his family will grieve the same.

However, currently there is no good way for one doctor to know what another doctor is or isn't prescribing without the patient telling him. How do you think people become prescription drug addicts if this were true?

I know this because my sister and my mother-in-law are prescrption drug addicts. Here's what they do: they have several different doctors in several different cities. They go to several different pharmacists, and while each pharmacist will have a network with all their stores (say, RiteAid), RiteAid won't necessarily know what Walgreens is doing, or the hometown pharmacist. And, when all that fails, just fake an injury or pain and go to the emergency room for an emergency shot of painkillers. In extreme cases, both my sister and mother-in-law have hurt themselves purposefully in order to get admitted and get pain meds.

It's really easy to get different meds from different doctors. For all those that think doctors should be omnicient, they do have a duty not to overprescribe, but it's us that know our bodies and what we're taking better than anyone. It's our own personal duty to protect ourselves.

I don't know about anyone else here, but I am a happy, non-depressed individual and always have been. Because I care about my life, I would ask, "Hey, is it OK to mix this med with ths one?" Or, "Should I be taking 4 different prescriptions at once?" Those that don't care don't ask.

(Reply to this)

dystopiandweller writes:
on Feb 07 2008 12:38 PM

I agree with you completely, dinobot. To all the stubborn naysayers: he did not "overdose." Even the article says the term is used warily. He didn't necessarily take 10 pills at once. He didn't overdose on any one medication. And he probably didn't even take all of his different medications at once. Medical poisoning can happen over a period of time, as the cumulative effect of putting a few too many chemicals into your body, not necessarily at once. This is maybe what happened.

(Reply to this)

Related Links

Heath Ledger

Related Articles

Most Discussed

Latest News

Latest Interviews

Latest Features

Sponsored Links