Rachel Daggett, 18, died of an overdose after ingesting Oxycodone. A trail of the illegally-diverted narcotic led back to the Payette Clinic in Vancouver, Washington. The clinic was subsequently exposed as a “pill mill,” in which nurses were dispensing narcotics in unheard-of amounts to virtually anyone who would walk in off the street and claim that they were suffering from back pain.

Since suing Payette for the death of Ms. Daggett, our firm brought 16 more lawsuits against Payette, many on the behalf of the families of patients who died from overdoses, and others from people whose lives have been shattered by the addiction brought on by Payette’s massive over-prescription of narcotics. All of the lawsuits were settled for an undisclosed amount.

The nurses at Payette: Kelly Bell, Scott Pecora, and Penny Steers were forced to temporarily give up their right to prescribe narcotics after being raided by the DEA. Notably, just before the DEA stepped in during the spring of 2009, co-owner Kelly Bell announced that Payette would be opening a sleep apnea clinic “for those of you who, under the influence of our medication, sometimes forget to breathe.”