A wrongful-death suit filed against a local doctor and Walgreens by the estate of a 28-year-old Butler woman who died from drug toxicity from a cocktail of prescribed medications has been settled out of court.

Attorneys for the plaintiff and defendants either declined to comment or couldn’t be reached for comment about the lawsuit filed in March 2020 or the settlement reached Monday, the day a civil trial was scheduled to begin in Common Pleas Court.

The estate of Natalie A. Bartock, who died May 15, 2008, filed the suit against Dr. George M. Zagger and Walgreens, claiming her death was caused by a combination of the opioids and other addictive medications Zagger prescribed and Walgreens filled for a little more than two years. The pharmacy at the Walgreens at 280 New Castle Road also was named in the suit.

Bartock had numerous outpatient visits to Zagger, who was her primary care physician, from 2011 through 2018 for chronic pain, anxiety and insomnia. During that time, Zagger continuously prescribed a cocktail of medications that included opioids tramadol and oxycodone; benzodiazepine (alprazolam); and muscle relaxants carisoprodol and trazodone, according to the suit.

Her cause of death was combined drug toxicity of oxymorphone, alprazolam, carisoprodol, tramadol and trazodone that she received for 738 days through prescriptions from March 19, 2016, through May 11, 2018, according to the suit.

The medications she was prescribed and received in that time period are 1,320 325-milligram pills of oxycodone/acetaminophen, 3,240 50-milligram pills of tramadol, 1,530 300-milligram pills of gabapentin, 1,620 1-miligram pills of alprazolam, 740 350-milligram pills of carisoprodol, 210 100-milligram pills of trazodone, 180 10-milligram pills of zolpidem, 116 30-milligram pills of duloextine and 60 5-milligram pills of oxymorphone ER, according to the suit.

“This averages out to decedent taking about 12.2 highly addictive pills per day,” according to the suit.

Zagger should have known the medications had the potential to be highly addictive, and Bartock exhibited numerous signs of addictive behavior, according to the suit. She came up with “lame” reasons for requesting early refills, including two 2017 incidents when she demanded a refill because someone stole her Percocet and asking for a two-month refill because she was going out of town, according to the suit.

In addition, Bartock had a history of narcotic dependency and the need for a methadone clinic, according to the suit.

Zagger knew Bartock sought consultations with specialists for the injuries that were the cause of her alleged chronic pain, according to the suit. In May 2015, an orthopedic specialist outlined a plan to treat her back pain that included quitting smoking and doing more physical therapy and aerobic exercise, according to the suit.

The lawsuit included claims of medical negligence, wrongful death and professional negligence, and sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and a jury trial.