PRN Sues Govt in Schneider Case
PRN Sues to Protect Dr. Schneider’s License; Deb Gruver; Wichita Eagle; 2008-01-18.
The Pain Relief Network this week sued the Kansas Board of Healing Arts, hoping to prevent it from yanking Haysville physician Stephen Schneider’s medical license.
The lawsuit, filed in Sedgwick County District Court, seeks a temporary restraining order or injunction against the board, which is charged with regulating doctors and other medical professionals in Kansas. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2008.
A federal grand jury alleges that Schneider ran a “pill mill” and overprescribed dangerous pain medications that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least 56 patients. He also faces charges of health care fraud, illegal monetary transactions and money laundering.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asks that the board be prevented from revoking Schneider’s license “until such time he can personally appear to contest any such action.”
A lawyer for the Board of Healing Arts the same day asked a hearing officer to suspend Schneider’s medical license while the board considers disciplinary action. The board took no action and still is investigating, said Mark Stafford, general counsel for the board.
Kelli Stevens, litigation counsel for the board, expressed concern this week that Schneider’s clinic continues to operate while he’s in jail.
However, the Pain Relief Network, a group formed in 2002 and based in New Mexico, has argued that patients will suffer if Schneider’s clinic closes.
The group argues in its petition that the Controlled Substance Act violates patients’ Constitutional rights.
Included in the group’s petition are several affidavits signed by Schneider’s patients saying his treatment helped them alleviate horrific pain.
“I need Dr. Schneider to live,” said one woman in an affidavit.
Siobhan Reynolds, president of the Pain Relief Network, has said that no other doctors are available to treat Schneider’s patients.
Efforts to reach Reynolds on Thursday for comment about the lawsuit were unsuccessful. Jim Cross, a spokesman for U.S. attorney Eric Melgren, said that office had no comment about the lawsuit.
No one should assume that the board will suspend Schneider’s license, Stafford said.
The petition, he said, “doesn’t very clearly say who this organization is or what it is. But I don’t believe just in general terms that it’s appropriate for outside forces to detract or try to derail our efforts to protect the public.
“Having said that, I hope that when we take action, it does take into account all of the consequences and the patients who are concerned that they are without medical care.”
Schneider’s wife, Linda, a nurse, is in jail on allegations she conspired with her husband.
The lawsuit, filed in Sedgwick County District Court, seeks a temporary restraining order or injunction against the board, which is charged with regulating doctors and other medical professionals in Kansas. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2008.
A federal grand jury alleges that Schneider ran a “pill mill” and overprescribed dangerous pain medications that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least 56 patients. He also faces charges of health care fraud, illegal monetary transactions and money laundering.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, asks that the board be prevented from revoking Schneider’s license “until such time he can personally appear to contest any such action.”
A lawyer for the Board of Healing Arts the same day asked a hearing officer to suspend Schneider’s medical license while the board considers disciplinary action. The board took no action and still is investigating, said Mark Stafford, general counsel for the board.
Kelli Stevens, litigation counsel for the board, expressed concern this week that Schneider’s clinic continues to operate while he’s in jail.
However, the Pain Relief Network, a group formed in 2002 and based in New Mexico, has argued that patients will suffer if Schneider’s clinic closes.
Included in the group’s petition are several affidavits signed by Schneider’s patients saying his treatment helped them alleviate horrific pain.
“I need Dr. Schneider to live,” said one woman in an affidavit.
Siobhan Reynolds, president of the Pain Relief Network, has said that no other doctors are available to treat Schneider’s patients.
Efforts to reach Reynolds on Thursday for comment about the lawsuit were unsuccessful. Jim Cross, a spokesman for U.S. attorney Eric Melgren, said that office had no comment about the lawsuit.
No one should assume that the board will suspend Schneider’s license, Stafford said.
The petition, he said, “doesn’t very clearly say who this organization is or what it is. But I don’t believe just in general terms that it’s appropriate for outside forces to detract or try to derail our efforts to protect the public.
“Having said that, I hope that when we take action, it does take into account all of the consequences and the patients who are concerned that they are without medical care.”
Schneider’s wife, Linda, a nurse, is in jail on allegations she conspired with her husband.
[END]
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Sphere: Related ContentTags: enjoin, Law enforcement, Leglislation, pain relief, persecuted physicians, prn, schneider, temporary restraining order, trial
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