Pain center must cease writing prescriptions after two overdose deaths tied to clinic

A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order to stop a Tampa area pain clinic from prescribing or distributing controlled substances including opioids.

Phoenix Medical Management Care Centers Inc. in Tarpon Springs and three individuals at the clinic, including a doctor, have been accused by the U.S. Justice Department of “unlawfully issu(ing) controlled substance prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.” The complaint alleges two patients died after getting prescriptions for opioids from the doctor and that the drugs contributed to those deaths.

The department is seeking civil penalties and a permanent injunction against the defendants, Dr. Vivian Herrero, a pediatrician, Christopher Ferguson and Patricia Ferguson, according to a statement from federal officials. The Fergusons, who are married, own the clinic which is organized as a nonprofit.