Luca Micic, 21, died at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital on March 22, 2024 after he took an illicit drug following a visit from friends which reacted with prescribed medication, causing his death
A 21-year-old man died in hospital in Exeter after taking an illegal drug while on the ward, an inquest has heard.
Luca Micic died at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital on March 22, 2024 – four days after he suffered injuries in a road traffic collision. Doctors prescribed him medication for pain relief, but after a visit by friends, Luca managed to take an illicit drug, Devon Live reported.
A toxic combination of the drugs was found in his body following his death, an inquest in Exeter was told. Senior coroner Alison Longhorn recorded a drug related death.
Luca’s mum and brother gave evidence to the inquest at County Hall in Exeter and said checks should have been undertaken to find out what illegal drugs were in his system before prescribing methadone to ease his pain.
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The inquest was told that Luca was admitted to the emergency ward at hospital on March 18 after being involved in a single vehicle crash. He had a long-standing history of drug use and it was suspected he had been driving while under the influence.
The inquest heard that while in hospital doctors struggled to control his pain. He was prescribed opioids to help.
On March 19 he lost consciousness and was taken to the intensive care ward. He was treated and recovered.
It was suspected he had taken bromazolam, an illicit sedative sometimes known as street Xanax. Doctors thought somebody had brought the drug into the hospital and given it to Luca.
At 9am on March 22 he was found unresponsive by nurses and, despite best efforts to save him, was pronounced dead that morning.
A post-mortem found a combination of illegal and prescribed drugs in his system, including cocaine, ketamine, bromazolam, methadone and morphine.
The coroner said it was not possible to say whether one drug had been decisive in causing Luca’s death. Cause of death was recorded as combined toxic effect of opioids and bromazolam. Sleep apnoea was also a contributory factor.
Consultant James Pittman said controlling Luca’s pain had been a challenge for doctors. During his recovery from overdose Luca was given 50mg of methadone by another doctor to ease his pain.
Dr Pittman said it was a ‘high’ dose but justified on the basis Luca was a large man, standing 6ft 4in tall and weighing 120kg, and because he was assessed as a having a high tolerance threshold.
On the afternoon of March 21, a few hours after taking the methadone, Luca was able to go outside and have a cigarette.
Asked by the coroner whether he had any concerns about the medical management of Luca’s pain while in hospital, Dr Pittman said the death was tragic and came about from a ‘complex set of circumstances’.
“We don’t know whether non-prescribed drugs played a large, medium or small part in his eventual death,” he added. He said the pain relief had been given “for the right reasons” and he was monitored in a specialist care setting.
Luca’s mum, Candina Leembruggen, said doctors should have tested what illegal drugs were in her son’s system before the methadone was administered. She said it was “shocking” and “bizarre” such tests had not been carried out.
She said “colossal” mistakes had been made in his treatment and said had the methadone not been given her son would still be alive.
Dr Pittman said hospitals do not undertake such tests and if they had it would not have made a difference.
The coroner said after his admission to hospital clinicians had struggled to control Luca’s pain. She said he was a recreational drug user with an increased tolerance to opiates. She said cause of death was due to the combined toxic effect of several drugs.
The coroner said a nurse informed police on March 19 about Luca taking an illegal drug while an inpatient. Police at that point had taken no further action, she said.
