Eight pill mills in Washington state contributed to the overdose deaths of 16 people and left many more with serious addictions, investigators recently announced. If your doctor got you hooked on narcotic drugs, Kafoury & McDougal may be able to help.

Investigators yanked the medical license of Dr. Frank D. Li, medical director for the Seattle Pain Center, which operates clinics in Everett, Seattle, Renton, Tacoma, Poulsbo, Olympia, Vancouver and Spokane, calling this “the largest case they’ve ever seen.”

State investigators said the 16 patients between the ages of 28 and 62 were illegally given large amounts of highly addictive drugs like morphine and oxycodone.

And there could be many more patients who are struggling with a dangerous opioid addiction, thanks to over-prescribing doctors and nurses at the Seattle Pain Center. The clinics have treated more than 25,000 patients.

State licensing boards have received at least 40 complaints against advanced practice registered nurses, osteopaths, a psychologist and a chemical dependency trainee working at the Seattle Pain Center.

Dependence on prescription drugs has helped fuel a nation-wide epidemic of heroin addiction. People get hooked on prescription opioids and end up switching to cheaper drugs available on the streets when their prescriptions dry up.

If your doctor gave you drugs that left you with a serious addiction, Kafoury & McDougal may be able to help you.

We have handled similar cases in the past.

Kafoury & McDougal settled 17 lawsuits against the Payette Clinic – a deadly pill mill in Vancouver, Washington that left hundreds of former patients with serious addictions. At least two former Payette patients turned to robbing pharmacies, threatening to shoot employees if they didn’t hand over OxyContin.

Payette principals Kelly Bell, Scott Pecora and Penny Steers prescribed huge amounts of narcotic to anyone who walked through their doors. The three nurse practitioners gave up their rights to prescribe after the Drug Enforcement Agency raided the clinic in 2009.

The DEA stepped in just after Bell announced Payette’s plans to open a sleep-apnea clinic “for those of you who under the influence of our medication sometimes forget to breathe.”

We should be able to trust our doctors to prescribe medications safely. If your doctor has violated that trust, call Kafoury & McDougal. We handle cases in both Oregon and Washington.

Additional Information

HeraldNet article – July 21, 2016

Seattle Times article – July 15, 2016