In representing Oesterling, Ron Chapman II and fellow Chapman Law Group attorney Robert J. Andretz turned down plea deals because they knew these charges were false. Oesterling told Medscape:
“The prosecutor wanted us to plead all the time. … The final offer was 4 years of prison and $4 or $5 million in fines, and he thought that was a great deal. I told Ron we are never pleading guilty. I didn’t care what the rest of the world thought, I knew I was innocent.”
At the October 2017 trial in Tuscola County, Ron and Rob attested that Oesterling worked hard as a physician; had a deep understanding and caring nature with his patients; would meticulously verify medical complaints; and wouldn’t prescribe pain medication unless it was strictly for medical purposes. Per Medscape:
Through discharge records and letters, [Ron] Chapman showed that Oesterling had discharged more than 70 patients from the practice for failing to comply with rules, lying, or having urine screens that came back negative for the medications prescribed, according to court testimony. Charts that compared Oesterling’s prescription dosages over time with those from the deceased physician who formerly owned the practice illustrated clear decreases after Oesterling took over, according to Chapman and court testimony. In addition, tax returns entered into evidence revealed that Oesterling took a financial loss in 2015 after taking on the Caro practice and seeing less urology patients.
“Does this look like intentional conduct for financial gain? No,” Chapman said during the trial. “You don’t discharge patients from the practice for financial gain. You don’t transfer them from cash-paying patients to lower-insurance patients for financial gain. … The prosecution hasn’t met their burden on financial gain because they haven’t traced a single dollar from this alleged racketeering criminal enterprise to Dr. Oesterling as profit.”
The jury found Oesterling not guilty of all seven charges.
And our work on this case exemplifies why it takes the health care-based criminal law attorneys at Chapman Law Group to get such a verdict.
Why? Because in our 35 years of representing health care professionals, we have perfected thorough defense strategies for pill mills, DEA matters, and Controlled Substances Act violations.
Our federal criminal defense attorneys know what pain management guidelines and the standard of care are for prescribing pain medications, and how each state — such as Michigan — handles unlawful prescribing or dispensing matters. For physicians, pain management specialists, pharmacists, and other medical professionals accused of diversion, we have real-world practical knowledge on the documentation and administration of medication.
Further, our lawyers have backgrounds as former federal criminal prosecutors, HHS/Medicare attorneys, and Medicaid fraud prosecutors — so we know what local, state, and federal prosecutors look for when charging and bringing healthcare providers to trial.