After his patient died of an overdose on prescription drugs, a New York City doctor faces manslaughter charges for irresponsibly issuing medication, the Associated Press reported. According to prosecutors, the doctor continued to write prescriptions even after his patient admitted to taking them faster than recommended (and faster than the dosage projected).
The above patient wasn't the first to overdose from Dr. Stan Li's prescriptions. At least two others abused his drugs. One died after receiving dozens of prescriptions in just over a month. Another received Li's drugs throughout a period of five overdoses, all of which she survived.
A third patient murdered four people during a robbery of a Long Island pharmacy in 2011. (Li is also currently charged in that case for illegally selling the accused drugs.)
Among other transgressions, Li, 60, put "money before lives," according to prosecutors Charlotte Fishman's opening remarks. He saw up to 90 patients per day, capitalizing on the pay per prescription format of his clinic, the AP reported. In two years, he made around $450,000 -- on top of his full time salary as an ananesthesiologist.
"Doctors are not trained to be police officers. They're not trained to be detectives," Li's defense attorney, Raymond Belair, told jurors. Belair contended that Li treated those already addicted to pain medications. Thus, he knowingly gave them pills -- despite their issues -- but in controlled doses to help them slowly recover.
Fellow doctors claim they called Li whenever one of patients overdoses. Still, you could see how the defense might counter such claims. Undoubtedly, Lee knew his patients were abusing his prescriptions and were suicidal, but he might have believed (or so the defense could argue) they were safer receiving his doses rather than those from less legitimate sources. The defense might even point to Li's 2011 case as support for why Li should prescribe to addicts. If he doesn't, they might rob a pharamacy, putting lives at risk.
