An Oxnard physician facing federal charges for allegedly overprescribing painkillers has been sued for medical malpractice and negligence by four patients and the widow of a fifth who died after taking medication intended to ease a back injury.
The lawsuits were filed shortly before a grand jury returned an indictment last month against Dr. Michael B. Huff, 55, a family practitioner accused of prescribing large amounts of narcotics to patients who either became hooked on them or sold the drugs on the street.
Huff and pharmacist Richard Ozar, 58, the owner of Victoria Village Pharmacy in Ventura, are scheduled to appear in federal court today for arraignment on conspiracy and drug trafficking charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence.
The indictment charges Huff and Ozar with distributing painkillers, including OxyContin, Roxicodone and Actiq, in violation of federal law, and alleges that Huff prescribed drugs whether or not they were medically necessary, to boost his patient base.
Huff has declined comment on the charges. Ozar's lawyer said his client has done nothing illegal and suggested that the government is trying to make an example of the pharmacist amid a national debate on how to treat chronic pain.
The federal case will be closely watched by those who have sued Huff. They include a disabled waitress, a housewife and the widow of a retired firefighter whose lawsuits allege Huff was a reckless doctor who failed to warn patients that the drugs he was prescribing posed a high risk of addiction, injury or death.
"It is awful, just really awful what happened," said Linda Bafford, 39, a waitress who lost her teeth after taking Actiq, a berry-flavored narcotic lollipop designed for cancer patients, which she said Huff prescribed to ease pain caused by a spinal injury.
Bafford grew up in Ventura County and now lives in the eastern Sierra town of Bishop. She said she began seeing Huff in 2001 after undergoing neck and back surgeries after a workplace accident. Her lawsuit alleges that Huff prescribed Actiq in an amount far exceeding the recommended dosage and failed to advise her of its side effects and addictive properties.
As a result, the suit states, Bafford developed an addiction to the painkiller and suffered tooth decay that led to the loss of all her teeth in November 2002. She is seeking unspecified damages from Huff and Ozar, who filled the prescriptions. They have not responded to the allegations.
