Clinical AdvisorAcquitted NP Sues Government for False Arrest

A nurse practitioner’s acquittal in a controlled substance prescribing case and subsequent lawsuit against the DEA highlights critical distinctions between probable cause for arrest and evidence required for conviction. The case emphasizes the importance of proper DEA registration, collaboration agreements, and understanding state-specific prescribing limitations for advanced practice nurses.

Key Points:

• The NP wrote approximately 1,500 prescriptions for Schedule III and IV weight loss medications using collaborating physicians’ DEA numbers between 2012-2014, leading to a DEA investigation after pharmacist concerns
• State law restricted Schedule III and IV controlled substance prescribing for weight loss to licensed physicians, with exceptions for APNs who met specific requirements including valid DEA registration and documented collaboration agreements
• Both collaborating physicians denied authorizing the NP to use their DEA numbers for prescriptions, though patient charts showed their review and signatures
• The Court ruled that probable cause for arrest requires only reasonable belief of criminal activity based on known facts, not conclusive proof needed for conviction
• Following acquittal and license reinstatement, the NP’s lawsuit against the DEA was dismissed as probable cause serves as an absolute bar to false arrest claims without evidence of malice or bad faith

“Probable cause is not evaluated in hindsight, but on the facts as they appeared to a reasonable person even if that reasonable belief turned out to be incorrect.”

Controlled Medicines Summaries