Drug Overdose Victim’s Family Sues Physician

The last doctor who prescribed drugs to the late filmmaker Don Simpson has been accused by the family of a former patient of destroying evidence.

The family of Marcia Ann Roth, who died of a morphine overdose, sued Dr. Michael Lawrence Horwitz, the former director of chemical dependency services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The lawsuit, filed last year, contended that Horwitz negligently prescribed medications in 1996 that directly caused Roth’s death.

In a motion filed Friday, the estate alleged that Horwitz discarded a bag of medications and altered medical records after Roth’s death to cover up acts of “blatant malpractice.”

Horwitz, who resigned 18 months ago from Cedars-Sinai to practice medicine in Grand Junction, Colo., could not be reached for comment Tuesday. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

N. Denise Taylor, a Los Angeles attorney who represents Horwitz, characterized the allegations in the motion as “frivolous and unmeritorious.”

Horwitz, whose patients have included such celebrities as the late rock star Kurt Cobain, was one of more than a dozen doctors who prescribed drugs to Simpson in the months before the famed Hollywood producer’s death. After Simpson was found dead Jan. 19, 1996, state and federal agents launched an investigation into a group of doctors and pharmacies that had provided medications to Simpson.

Police raided the offices of Dr. Nomi J. Fredrick and Dr. Robert H. Gerner in August 1996 as part of that probe. No action has been taken against either doctor--or against any other physician or pharmacy providing medications to the producer before his death.

In July, Horwitz was subpoenaed by the California Medical Board along with Fredrick and Gerner and nearly a dozen other individuals affiliated with Simpson. A Superior Court hearing is scheduled May 4 to determine whether the doctors can be forced to turn over Simpson’s medical records.

Roth, 45, had a history of alcohol and drug abuse and was treated by Horwitz from January 1995 until her death on April 7, 1996, the motion filed by her family says. Although Roth had been suffering from depression and substance abuse problems, Horwitz wrote her a prescription for morphine sulphate tablets on April 3--just one day before she underwent liposuction surgery in Los Angeles, the motion says.

Roth died of accidental morphine intoxication in her home four days later, according to a coroner’s autopsy report. No pill bottles or medications were discovered at the death scene and a police report indicated that someone may have cleaned out the premises before paramedics arrived, the motion says.

Horwitz testified during a recent deposition that one day after Roth was found dead, a friend of hers brought a bag of medications prescribed to Roth to his office. Horwitz testified that the bag contained unopened medications prescribed by another physician and that he disposed of it without notifying police or Roth’s family, the motion says.

The motion claims that Horwitz altered Roth’s medical records after she died, adding details to her chart “in an effort to create a defense for his negligent conduct.” During his deposition, Horwitz denied altering Roth’s records, the motion says.

During his deposition for Roth’s civil suit, Horwitz testified that he had been contacted by the medical board concerning his treatment of Simpson just before Roth’s death. Roth’s estate contends that Horwitz “fled” the state to avoid the investigation after the deaths of Simpson and Roth, according to the motion.

Roth’s case is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 16 in Superior Court.