Interesting article, proves there is no more personal responsibility

[Vernal45]

Prescription for Death? OxyContin Doctor on Trial
Jul. 31, 2001


A Florida doctor has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly improperly prescribing the painkiller OxyContin to a man who died of a drug overdose in February. Doctor Denis Deonarine was charged with racketeering and with trafficking a controlled substance in an 80-count indictment that remains under court seal.



"We are dealing with the pharmaceutical equivalent of the atomic bomb," says the victim's attorney, Jack Scarola. "From the outset everyone involved in the chain of distribution of this drug has failed to recognize its potency and its potential for abuse."



Now Deonarine--a board-certified family physician--is the first doctor charged with first-degree murder for inappropriately prescribing OxyContin. It's a charge that could carry the death penalty.



But it may only be the latest tactic in the fight against the skyrocketing illegal use of OxyContin--a drug so addictive and so in demand on the street that robbers raid pharmacies for it rather than money. Six states have made it more difficult to prescribe and its manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, faces 12 class-action lawsuits. Still, the case against Deonarine is an unusual one.



"I think it's absurd, and you can you just imagine what the legal implications would be if you start blaming doctors every time a patient abuses a medication that they get," says Richard Lubin, the doctor's attorney.



The patient, Michael Labzda, did have alcohol and other drugs in his bloodstream, but the state attorney argues he should never have had the OxyContin in the first place and that there's only one person to blame for that.



"I don't want this to be any kind of warning shot across anyone's bow. We're not taking on the medical community. We're not taking on the drug . . . we're taking on one doctor who inappropriately prescribed it," says Barry Krischer, Palm Beach County state attorney.



But this case could very well be a warning. Several more OxyContin overdose deaths are now under investigation in Palm Beach County alone, and authorities say not all of them were this doctor's patients.



Richard Lubin discussed the case against his client in an interview with the Early Show.



Lubin says he feels that this charge is meritless. The state is charging the doctor with felony murder--saying that the death resulted from the doctor prescribing drugs. In defense, he will argue that this was not drug trafficking and did not occur during drug trafficking. Lubin will argue: How can this be drug trafficking when a doctor sees a patient and then writes a prescription for that patient?



Lubin thought that the state would have sooner charged the doctor with gross negligence (insofar as the doctor prescribed medicine when his patient had a history of drug possession), but Lubin feels that felony murder is farfetched.



Lubin also pointed out that there is a doctor/patient relationship and it would be outrageous to assume that doctors are liable if their patients ake the prescribed medication with other drugs or alcohol . . . all in violation of pain management agreements.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/31/health/printable327252.shtml

 

[The Rabbi]

Well that will certainly help the quality of medical care in this country. Not.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Keeping this gun related...

lpl/nc
==================================

http://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=497

...according to statistics provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, there is an interesting correlation between accidental deaths caused by guns and by doctors.

Doctors: (A) There are 700,000 physicians in the U.S. (B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians total 120,000 per year. (C) Accidental death percentage per physician is 0.171.

Guns: (A) There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. (B) There are 1,500 accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups. (C) The percentage of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.

Statistically, then, doctors are 9,000 times more dangerous to the public health than gun owners. Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Following the logic of liberals, we should all be warned: "Guns don't kill people. Doctors do." ...

 

[Sergeant Bob]

Even if the doctor was guilty of something, how do they justify calling it First Degree Murder?

n. although it varies from state to state, it is generally a killing which is deliberate and premeditated (planned, after lying in wait, by poison or as part of a scheme), in conjunction with felonies such as rape, burglary, arson, or involving multiple deaths, the killing of certain types of people (such as a child, a police officer, a prison guard, a fellow prisoner), or certain weapons, particularly a gun. The specific criteria for first degree murder, are established by statute in each state and by the U.S. Code in federal prosecutions. It is distinguished from second degree murder in which premeditation is usually absent, and from manslaughter, which lacks premeditation and suggests that at most there was intent to harm rather than to kill.

Dictionary.law.com

 

[Tory]

Gross misrepresentation

This is NOT proof that "there is no more personal responsibility."

What those of us who actually read the full text - and import thereof - grasped is that THIS doctor allegedly abused his license and ignored his duty by selling prescriptions for a highly addictive drug to those with no medical need for it.

For those who missed it, here's the significant sentence:

"Doctor Denis Deonarine was charged with racketeering and with trafficking a controlled substance in an 80-count indictment that remains under court seal."

Got that - racketeering and an "80-count indictment." This is not Marcus Welby prescribing a drug to a patient who abused the medication.

Everyone step back, take a deeeeep breath, and wait for the case to unfold.

 

[Vernal45]

May 4 2005 - Jupiter doctor Denis Deonarine may have had good intentions when he opened a family medical practice in the 1990s, but the lucrative business of prescribing potent painkillers clouded his judgment and resulted in the overdose death of 21-year-old Michael Labzda in 2001, according to Assistant State Attorney Barbara Burns.

Deonarine went on trial Tuesday on a single count of first-degree murder and dozens of other counts, including trafficking in oxycodone and Medicaid fraud. He is believed to be the first Florida doctor charged with first-degree murder in an overdose death.

Burns said that when OxyContin -- a narcotic used to treat moderate to severe pain -- came on the market in the late 1990s, Deonarine's practice morphed into a pill mill. He prescribed OxyContin, Xanax and Valium often based solely on a patient's word, regardless of whether medical records or tests existed to confirm a diagnosis, the prosecutor said.

Deonarine's lawyer, Richard Lubin, said that as a family practitioner, Deonarine treated everything from cancer to eye infections and that a very small percentage of his 2,700-patient practice -- about 15 percent -- dealt with chronic pain, requiring narcotic painkillers.

The doctor made mistakes in areas such as hiring and record-keeping, Lubin said. But he cannot be held responsible for the death of Labzda, a drug abuser who fooled the doctor into believing he suffered chronic back pain, Lubin said.

Deonarine stopped accepting Medicaid and began offering commissions to people who drummed up business, Burns said. He began dating and living with one patient and hired other patients, Burns said.

Record-keeping at his Indiantown Road medical office was horrendous, Burns said. Medical records lay stacked in heaps, never making it into files. Wait times stretched to four and five hours, according to the prosecutor. Area pharmacists became alarmed and refused to fill prescriptions after noticing unusually high dosages. Though a manufacturer's rep warned Deonarine that he wasn't "appropriately" prescribing OxyContin, he ignored her, Burns said.

"It was all for money," Burns told jurors.

Labzda, a drug user, had nothing wrong with him when he went to see Deonarine in the summer of 2000, but Deonarine, despite failing to order any tests for Labzda's supposed back pain, prescribed OxyContin anyway, Burns said. On Feb. 8, 2001, Labzda was found dead. An autopsy revealed the cause of death as an overdose.

The 60-year-old Deonarine came to the United States from his native Trinidad, where he practiced obstetrics and gynecology, Lubin said. He became a board certified family practitioner in Florida and built a successful practice. Most people had private insurance, but some paid cash.

Many doctors opt not to accept Medicaid since the reimbursement rate is so low, according to Lubin.

Deonarine regularly referred patients for more sophisticated tests and to see specialists, but many could not afford to do so, the lawyer said. Rather than ignore someone in pain, Deonarine chose to treat them anyway, he said. The doctor often spent 30 minutes on office visits and gave patients his home phone number.

"He was a caring physician trying his best to help his patients," Lubin said.

For all of Deonarine's good intentions, Lubin acknowledged the doctor was a poor record-keeper and his organizational and hiring skills left much to be desired. But Lubin said that doesn't make Deonarine a criminal.

Unbeknownst to Deonarine, Labzda abused drugs and lied about back pain to get a prescription, Lubin said. Every doctor has a small percentage of patients who are addicts that are well versed in how to fool a doctor into prescribing drugs. Labzda was one of those patients, Lubin said.

The young man died as a result of his own "reckless conduct," according to Lubin. On the day of his death, Labzda drank 12 to 20 beers, crushed and snorted 80 to 160 milligrams of OxyContin, smoked marijuana and took an excessive amount of Xanax.

"He'd been warned. He knew what he was doing and it killed him," Lubin said.

October 17th 2004 - Dr. Deonarine was to have gone to trial on 11/1 for murder and various other related charges. Trial now postponed until March. Seems that the prosecutor finally disclosed the affidavit that supported probable cause for search warrant. Turns out it alleges nothing criminal. For example, it alleges that doc rx'd OxyContin and that somebody died. No allegation of cause, etc. Re fraud the totality of the allegation was that he had failed to bill Medicaid for visits when the patients had presented prescriptions. I suppose there was some theory that he was taking cash under the table or some such. The fact is, he doesn't take Medicaid.

Judge wants to think about motion to suppress all records seized in search. May never go to trial.

http://www.cpmission.com/main/painpolitics/deonarine.html

 

[Vernal45]

October 17th 2004 - Dr. Deonarine was to have gone to trial on 11/1 for murder and various other related charges. Trial now postponed until March. Seems that the prosecutor finally disclosed the affidavit that supported probable cause for search warrant. Turns out it alleges nothing criminal. For example, it alleges that doc rx'd OxyContin and that somebody died. No allegation of cause, etc. Re fraud the totality of the allegation was that he had failed to bill Medicaid for visits when the patients had presented prescriptions. I suppose there was some theory that he was taking cash under the table or some such. The fact is, he doesn't take Medicaid.

The young man died as a result of his own "reckless conduct," according to Lubin. On the day of his death, Labzda drank 12 to 20 beers, crushed and snorted 80 to 160 milligrams of OxyContin, smoked marijuana and took an excessive amount of Xanax.

YEA, sounds like this doctor is a REAL drug Dealer.

 

[beerslurpy]

I dont know much about the law, but I could probably skate on this one. A doctor with a high priced lawyer will surely get off. There isnt a jury and judge combo stupid enough to convict him.

Someone is grandstanding.

edit: oh noes, the prosecutor didnt even allege a crime to get the warrant. Was he playing with crayons when they taught this in lawyer school? There are probably people with downs syndrome who could beat the rap at this point.

 

[thorn726]

1st degree murder? that is ridiculous. as stated, where is the premeditation to kill?
its like they want him to get off.

but from the rest of it, 80 counts?? gross negligence, drug dealing, sure.
the guy is no good

 

[Vernal45]

October 17th 2004 - Dr. Deonarine was to have gone to trial on 11/1 for murder and various other related charges. Trial now postponed until March. Seems that the prosecutor finally disclosed the affidavit that supported probable cause for search warrant. Turns out it alleges nothing criminal. For example, it alleges that doc rx'd OxyContin and that somebody died. No allegation of cause, etc. Re fraud the totality of the allegation was that he had failed to bill Medicaid for visits when the patients had presented prescriptions. I suppose there was some theory that he was taking cash under the table or some such. The fact is, he doesn't take Medicaid.

Thorn, the guy was set up.

 

[c_yeager]

YEA, sounds like this doctor is a REAL drug Dealer.

You realize that all the quotes you used to support this conclusion came from the mouth of the man's lawyer. What do you expect his paid representative to say?

It is also possible that he is using his position as a phsician to further his more lucrative career as a drug dealer. There isnt enough information to make a decision one way or the other on this.

As far as first degree murder, im not sure how that works in Florida. As a physician he may be in a nasty position though. If he was prescribing an amount of narcotic that would be unsafe, or likely to result in an overdose, then his medical background means that he can't claim to have been ignorant of that. If he knowingly provided a person with an amount of medication that was dangerous to them AND he had reason to believe that the person was likely to use that medication irresponsibly; he may actually be guilty of murder. Im not sure if that fits the Florida definition of first degree murder though.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Whether the case has merit or not, headlines like this cause other doctors not to prescribe potent pain killers for cancer patients and other patients with severe pain.

The abuse potential for Oxycontin is high, and has been well known for years. The DEA has been closely watching the use of this drug.

I haven't prescribed it to a patient in a long long time, and have no intention to start now. Stories like this only reaffirm that position.

 

[Tory]

The first degree murder charge may well be a

Felony Murder charge. Premeditated intent to kill is not required; commission of a felony in which death is foreseeable (armed robbery being a classic example) or otherwise defined by statute becomes the basis for the charge.

In this case, if it is proven that the Healing Hands had been corrupted by Mammon to the extent that the good doctor was selling prescriptions for a highly-addicting and powerful drug to known abusers, then the death from that action is:

1. Foreseeable; and

2. A result of felonious action (drug-dealing).

If he beats this charge, maybe he should look into the equally-lucrative and marginally less dangerous traffic accident scams. Plenty of desperate Third-Worlders in Florida he can pack into junkers for staged collisions.

 

[dolanp]

Sounds like a leftist publicity stunt. Let's blame everyone but the person who did it to themselves, because after all that person is dead so we have to punish someone right?

Typical blame-shifting and sensationalism.

 

[YammyMonkey]

Great, now people who really need potent pain killers will be less likely to actually get them.

As if these people didn't have enough to worry about in the first place. When my wife was on OxyContin I always went with her to pick it up, even from the Naval Base because of the threat of harm coming to her from some punk who wanted to snort or eat that stuff.

From what I've seen, if it is properly used there is little risk of anything beyond the standard drowsiness, constipation, etc. with that stuff but the media has managed to turn it into prescription crack.

 

[c_yeager]

From what I've seen, if it is properly used there is little risk of anything beyond the standard drowsiness, constipation, etc. with that stuff but the media has managed to turn it into prescription crack.

Blame the people who are selling it and the doctors who give it to them. There wouldnt be a story for the media to report if they didnt exist.

 

[petrel800]

Nevermind. Deleted.