First-degree murder charge dismissed against doctor accused of patient’s overdose death

The Case of Dr. David Rosing

The life of Dr. David Rosing, a highly esteemed surgeon in Costa Mesa, Riverside County, California, came crashing down when armed State Health investigators and local law enforcement descended on his home while his children were swimming in their pool. In that one swift move, they besmirched a stellar reputation, a professional career and left an entire family in shambles. After cooperating fully with both the State medical board and law enforcement, he was later charged with 1st Degree Murder, Prescription of Controlled Substances for Illegal Purposes, and Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse.

He immediately hired two of the best know local defense attorneys in his community, but after receiving a plea offer that included the revocation of his license and a significant prison sentence, he and his family simply felt there was more that could be done. That is when they sought out the assistance of nationally known defense attorney Jose Baez, the “savior of doctors.” Dr. Rosing sought a law firm that would tenaciously contend with the prosecution and employ an innovative approach to mount an effective defense. After conducting its own investigation into both the medical decision making and the Department of Health Investigation. The Baez Law Firm found a case that was created with an incompetent, biased and outright misleading investigation. A preliminary hearing was scheduled, and the State put on their case before a judge and it immediately began to unravel. Blood evidence from the autopsy was destroyed and undocumented. Jose Baez was able to show that the toxicology reports were misleading and lacked the technology needed for accurate findings related to the crimes charged. Midway through the hearing, the Judge began asking his own questions. The lead investigator from the health department was grilled for hours on the stand. Mr. Baez outlined one incompetent move after another by the investigators. At the end of the hearing, even the prosecutors were convinced that indicting Dr. Rosing for the fatality of an individual who overdosed was an erroneous decision. Consequently, the prosecution withdrew the murder charge from the indictment, culminating in a favorable resolution, allowing Dr. Rosing to move on with his life and be there for his family.

The State’s Case

Prosecutors had to prove that Dr. Rosing intentionally or knowingly violated physicians best practices, that his activities fell outside the usual course of professional practice. Providers can be convicted of violating the Controlled Substances Act if they prescribe in dangerous ways such as knowingly writing inappropriate prescriptions. The State asserted that Dr. Rosing overprescribed opioid medication to a patient of his with an unmistakable drug addiction and claimed that he effectively acted as a drug dealer.

The State presented the following evidence and testimony:

• Per the Prosecution’s expert report, the decedent died from “acute oxycodone intoxication” due to Dr. Rosing’s excessive prescribing
• Rosing repeatedly issued prescriptions to decedent on a monthly basis for several controlled substances, including Oxycodone
• Rosing knew that it was unsafe to prescribe opioids with benzodiazepines yet did this 47 times
• Prosecution expert focused on multiple red flags that decedent was a drug addict and commented on Dr. Rosing’s unprofessional conduct with decedent by concentrating on gifts given, home visits, and code words used between the two

The Defense

The Defense provided a clear distinction between a drug seeker vs. a chronic pain patient. Dr. Rosing acted well within the usual course of professional practice by prescribing opioids for chronic pain. The Baez Law Firm presented a “good faith” defense by establishing that Dr. Rosing was trying to help his patient and by no means did he aim to prescribe in risky ways. The defense also obliterated the State’s notion of Dr. Rosing acting as a drug dealer by finding an actual drug dealer that was most likely to blame for the death of Dr. Rosing’s patient in this case.

The Defense countered with the following:

• Decedent had a long history of chronic pain secondary to complications from multiple abdominal surgeries (32 hospital admissions, 26 abdominal surgeries)
• The Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (“CURES”) report reflected 382 records, 190 of those controlled prescriptions were by another prescriber, not Dr. Rosing
• At the time of decedent’s death, there was also benzodiazepines in her system that Dr. Rosing did not prescribe
• The Prosecution failed to conduct a thorough review of decedent’s phone records which revealed decedent was last in contact with an illicit drug provider that came to her house and provided a Xanax prescription commonly known to be laced with Fentanyl, “Green Hulks”
• The State’s Forensic Pathologist and Toxicologist failed to test for Fentanyl in decedent’s system and disposed of decedent’s blood sample prematurely, before the completion of this case’s investigation

Not only does this case raise alarm among advocates for chronic pain patients, but it also creates increased fear amongst prescribers due to aggressive prosecutions. The results are doctors becoming discouraged from providing opioids even when they’re warranted. Dr. Rosing’s decision to defy convention and enlist our firm’s representation introduced a refreshing and innovative approach to his defense, enhancing the strategy with a sophisticated and distinct perspective. Physicians are becoming easy targets for prosecutors, who are looking for career building cases and juries automatically hold doctors to a higher standard than others in the community due to their lack of understanding of medicine and the sacrifices that physicians make to be able to practice. Prosecutors have an inherit advantage because juries are laypeople in a legal setting. The Baez Law Firm takes great pride in representing health care professionals who sacrifice so much and deserve praise, not prosecution.