A Honolulu, Hawaii-based pain management physician is facing a lawsuit for allegedly misdiagnosing a patient to prescribe him unnecessary amounts of oxycodone, Hawaii News Now reported Nov. 2.
Spencer Lau, MD, allegedly "intentionally misdiagnosed" a patient's back pain in 2012 to prescribe "unnecessary" amounts of oxycodone.
According to an Oct. 2 complaint, Dr. Lau prescribed the patient 180 pills per month, told him the medication was not addictive and did not tell him to try physical therapy first.
The patient continued to see Dr. Lau for more than a decade, according to the report, and followed Dr. Lau when he joined Premier Medical Group Hawaii in 2019, which is also a named defendant in the lawsuit.