A patient of a St.Paul, Minn.-based anesthesiologist and pain clinic is suing both, blaming them for his opioid dependency, the Pioneer Press reported May 25.
According to the report, Michael Faulhaber began seeing Samuel Yue, MD, and the Minnesota Pain Center after a workplace incident that left him in chronic pain. Dr. Yue allegedly prescribed Mr. Faulhaber "escalating levels of opioids" that left him physically addicted.
Mr. Faulhaber's legal team also accuses Dr. Yue of departing from pain management industry standards and using opioids to treat his patients' psychological condition. The clinic allegedly started prescribing Mr. Faulhaber opioids to manage pain in 2003 and continued prescribing through at least 2016.
In Dr. Yue's defense, the lawyers said that Mr. Faulhaber suffered emotional problems that had little to do with his medication.
The lawsuit is one of the of the first malpractice suits involving opioids in Minnesota, and closing arguments were delivered May 25.