Are Florida Pill Mills Committing Medical Malpractice?

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Shapiro Law Group

In the last few years, Florida has been in the national spotlight for having a large number of “pill mills”, healthcare practices accused of unsafely distributing powerful narcotics for no legitimate medical purpose. Aside from committing criminal activity, pill mills are responsible for widespread medical malpractice.

Although Florida has taken a strong stance to eliminate these institutions, many victims have lost loved ones and desire justice.

A Green Cove Springs doctor has been indicted by a federal grand jury for selling powerful pain medications for no legitimate medical purpose. According to unsealed court documents, four patients died while under the care of the Florida doctor. The doctor dispensed drugs such as morphine, oxycodone and Xanax to patients in a way that jeopardized patient safety.

Have Pill Mills Faced Lawsuits for Medical Malpractice?

Combinations of benzodiazepines and opiates can impair the central nervous system and cause respiratory failure. One patient died from this drug combination, and her family explored a possible medical malpractice suit against the doctor.

According to the family of the deceased woman, she had been seeing the doctor to help deal with pain management from a hip replacement surgery.

Florida is not the only state that has pill mills – similar operations have been found in Ohio and Texas. Last year in Ohio, the Drug Enforcement Administration shut down a pill mill and its owners faced multiple medical malpractice lawsuits.

Shapiro Law Group encourages our readers to learn more about medical malpractice by exploring our website. Our readers can learn more about Shapiro Law Group by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Did You Know? In 2010, oxycodone, a powerful opiate-based painkiller, led to 1,516 overdose deaths in Florida.

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