Table:

High Profile Criminal Cases against Opioid Prescribers for Patient Overdoses.

Case	Description of Criminal Charges	Level of Criminal Intent	Potential Penalties	Outcome of Case
State of Florida v. Gerald Klein, Florida Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Palm Beach County (2015)	Dr. Klein was charged with first-degree murder for the 2009 overdose death of 24-year old Joseph Bartolucci. Dr. Klein was accused of causing Bartolucci’s death by overprescribing opioid pain medications and his clinic was accused of pumping thousands of hydromorphone and oxycodone pills into the community on a daily basis in complete disregard of the safety of the community.	Florida state laws specify first degree murder for a homicide caused by unlawful distribution of controlled substances knowingly. No premeditation requirement, but the drug must be proven to be the proximate cause of the death of the user. (Fla. Stat. §782.04(1)(a)3).	Death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (Fla. Stat. §775.082(1)).	The jury acquitted Dr. Klein on the first-degree murder charge, as the patient was found responsible for his own death, but Dr. Klein was convicted on one minor drug charge.
State of California vs. Hsiu-Ying Tseng, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (2016)	Dr. Tseng, was arrested in 2012 on second degree murder charges for the overdose deaths of Joey Rovero, Vu Nguyen, and Steven Ogle as a result of prescriptions she wrote. Despite being notified over a dozen times that her patients had overdosed, Tseng continued irresponsible prescribing practices. According to evidence presented, these included: providing prescriptions in as little as three minutes and absent a physical exam to patients with evidence of addiction; and writing more than 27,000 prescriptions over a three-year period starting in January 2007 (an average of 25 per day).	Unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought (i.e., with an appreciation of the risk). (Cal. Pen. Code § 187–189).	Imprisonment for 15 years to life (Cal. Pen. Code § 190(a)).	The jury found Dr. Tseng guilty of second degree murder. The judge sentenced Dr. Tseng to 30-years to life in prison.
State of Iowa v. Daniel J. Baldi, Iowa District Court, Polk County(2014)	Pain specialist Dr. Baldi was charged with seven counts of involuntary manslaughter for the overdose deaths of his patients, including Paul Gray, the bassist of the band Slipknot. Baldi was accused of unintentionally causing Gray’s death by writing high-dose prescription opioids, to a known addict from December 2005-May 2010.	Unintentionally causing the death of a human being, including by the commission of an act in a manner likely to cause death or serious injury (Iowa. Code § 707.5).	Imprisonment for up to 2 years and fines of at least $625 but not to exceed $6,250 (Iowa. Code § 903.1(2)).	The jury acquitted Dr. Baldi on all involuntary manslaughter charges, as there was no clear evidence showing the patients in question died from overdoses of drugs the Dr. Baldi prescribed.
United States v. William E. Hurwitz, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2007)	In a retrial, Dr. Hurwitz was charged with over 50 counts of drug trafficking, including several counts of drug-trafficking resulting in serious bodily injury and drug-trafficking resulting in death in 2004. He was accused of distributing pain medicine in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.	Knowingly and intentionally distributing drugs outside the bounds of medical practice (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)).	Imprisonment for up to 20 years and fine of $1 million (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)).	In the retrial, the jury found Dr. Hurwitz guilty of 33 counts of drug trafficking. The judge sentenced Dr. Hurwitz to four years and nine months in prison.