Stacie L. Patterson Law Blog

After twelve deaths related to drug abuse or overdose, Dr. Julio Diaz of Santa Barbara has been arrested. The doctor has been under investigation for many years, suspected of prescribing powerful painkillers unnecessarily. Doctors from nearby hospitals claim to have been keeping a record of Diaz's patients that also visited emergency rooms in the area.

In a recent interview by the L.A. Times, Dr. Diaz did say that as the person who gave out the medicines, he did feel responsible and that perhaps there were signs that patients would overdose. Despite several complaints from family members of patients and other medical practitioners complaining to the Medical Board of California, Dr. Diaz kept prescribing the narcotics. He told The Times that he continued prescribing drugs, even though he may have suspected abuse, in some cases. By doing so, he could manage what the patient was taking. He posed a question about the worse of two-evils, realizing that people would go to the street looking for drugs. The doctor acknowledged that he developed a pain practice to "meet the needs of patients who had difficulty finding help elsewhere". In the same interview he also went on to say that choosing to run such a practice was "fraught with trouble". He cited drug-seeking patients, office burglaries and pharmacists refusing to fill his prescriptions as some of the difficulties.

In 2009 several of Dr. Diaz's patients died. He then became vigilant in watching over his patients. Checking the names against a state database that showed whether or not they were receiving controlled substances from other doctors and ensuring that his patients were actually taking prescriptions, not selling them, helped to monitor his practice. He said he has kicked out 8 of every ten patients for violating the rules.

While Diaz has not been charged in connection with any of the deaths, they do remain under investigation. He says he knows that other doctors blame him for these overdoses and death but is quick to ask who first gave the medication.

If you are a healthcare provider and are being investigated, call Attorney Stacie L. Patterson. (619) 269-8074