A California woman has filed a civil suit against a physician who she said caused her to be addicted to prescription drugs. The doctor, known as the “Candy Man” in the Santa Barbara area, is accused of physician malpractice in the suit, which was filed after the man was arrested on federal drug trafficking allegations. News reports show that the woman is also seeking financial compensation from several drug stores in the area that failed to police her prescription activity.

The plaintiff claims that her doctor insisted that she comply with a dangerous, addictive pain-management plan that involved continually increasing her dosages. The woman subsequently suffered serious drug addiction, which caused her to seek drugs and use them inappropriately. Not only did the woman fall down a flight of stairs while under the influence of the medication, but she also was required to go through hospitalization and rehabilitation treatments because of her prescription drug dependency. She is seeking compensation for medical malpractice, claiming serious emotional suffering and physical distress because of the doctor’s poor decisions.

Authorities say that the doctor’s practice of over-prescribing to his patients led to at least 11 deaths from overdose. The most recent victim died after he was prescribed more than 2,000 pain pills during the six weeks before his demise. Further, that physician is accused of trading prescription drugs for sex. He pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2013, including illegally prescribing a narcotic and failure to secure his stock of controlled drugs.

Physicians are charged with maintaining the physical and emotional health of their patients. In this situation, it appears that the doctor was too focused on prescription abuse to be an effective healer. Patients who have suffered such abuse deserve financial compensation for their woes, since they put their trust in a professional who violated the ethics of the industry.

Source: UPI, “Malpractice suit accuses ‘Candy Man’ Dr. Julio Diaz of facilitating addiction and overdoses” Evan Bleier, Dec. 23, 2013