Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) — A western Montana pain doctor has been found guilty of 22 felonies, including two counts of negligent homicide for the overdose deaths of two of his patients.
Jurors returned their verdict against Chris Christensen of Florence on Monday morning. They received the case on Thursday.
Christensen also was found guilty of 11 counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and nine counts of criminal endangerment.
Prosecutors alleged Christensen overprescribed opiates and other drugs in dangerous combinations and should have known his prescribing practices were dangerous because five of his patients in Idaho died in the 1990s.
Defense attorney Josh Van de Wetering argued Christensen was a compassionate physician who prescribed drugs to ease patients' suffering.
The state Board of Medical Examiners has suspended Christensen's medical license.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
