Can a Dr. be sued for over prescribing pain medication where the patient gets addicted and has to be sent to an addiction center.

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Can a Dr. be sued for over prescribing pain medication where the patient gets addicted and has to be sent to an addiction center.

We recently had to admit my adult son to an addiction recovery center to get off pain killers that were over prescribed by his Dr. He would just call the Dr. and the Dr. would give him a prescription sight unseen. The last one was for 100 pills. This does not seen right if there are no consequences for the Dr.

Asked on March 15, 2016 under Malpractice Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 8 years ago | Contributor

If your is an adult, if there is a valid cause of action, he, not you would have to sue. As to whether there may be a valid claim, the key issue is likely whether your son knew he was getting pills when he didn't really need them for medical reason...,that is, if he was deliberately abusing the medication. If he was, he cannot recover money: people cannot get compensation for thei own wrongful, dangerous, or illegal behavior. On the other hand, if the evidence is that he had no idea the doctor was over- or wrongly prescribing, then if the doctor's behavior was wrong by current reasonable medical standards, your son may have a viable malpractice claim.


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