An Oklahoma City doctor charged with nine counts of murder related to prescription drug deaths has now been named in a civil lawsuit.

William Martin Valuck, 71, and his physician's assistant Michael E. Hume, are named as defendants in a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of  Joyce Cathline Curnett. Curnett died of a prescription drug overdose on December 30, 2012, just two weeks after her 53rd birthday and just two days after Valuck prescribed her 600 pills.

The lawsuit, filed by Curnett's husband, alleges that Valuck showed "gross neglect" in managing his patient's pain, and that his actions demonstrated wanton and "reckless disregard" for her health and safety.

Valuck surrendered his Oklahoma medical license in the midst of an investigation into allegations that he and Hume were overprescribing painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs and that they were not conducting patient exams or establishing a doctor-patient relationship.

He was arrested in Texas in late December 2013, and he is being held without bond in the Oklahoma City jail. Valuck is charged with 72 counts of illegal prescription drug distribution as well as nine counts of first degree murder. 

The murder charges stem from eight patient overdose deaths and one fatal traffic accident caused by a patient who was under the influence of prescription drugs. These nine deaths occurred in just over a year, between September 2012 and December 2013.

A Tulsa newspaper reports that many of the overdose deaths occurred within days of receiving prescriptions for hundreds of pain pills and anti-anxiety pills including OxyContin, hydrocodone, Valium, and Xanax--some of the most highly abused prescription drugs available:

  • September 20, 2012: A patient died of an overdose after Valuck prescribed 510 pills in April and prescribed her sister-in-law 480 pills just nine days prior. The women allegedly shared pills.
  • November 2, 2012: A patient died two days after Valuck prescribed 300 pills, although the woman had already been prescribed 180 pills at an office visit with Hume.
  • November 28, 2012: A patient died one day after Valuck prescribed 470 pills.
  • December 5, 2012: A patient died one day after Valuck prescribed opiate pain killers and benzodiadepines, two commonly abused drug classes which are often found combined in fatal overdoses.
  • December 6, 2012: A patient died two and a half weeks after Valuck prescribed him 450 pills.
  • December 30, 2012: Joyce Curnett died of drug toxicity two days after Valuck prescribed her 600 pills.
  • August 8, 2013: A patient died one day after Valuck prescribed her 240 pills.
  • December 6, 2013: A patient died one day after Valuck prescribed 330 pills.
  • December 9, 2013: A man died after his vehicle was struck behind by a patient to whom Valuck had prescribed 450 pills earlier in the day. The patient was arrested for causing a fatal accident while under the influence of drugs.

Valuck allegedly did not accept any insurance, with all office visits on a cash payment basis. A local news outlet reports that the first visit was $250, with subsequent visits charged at $120 or $160 if the visit included urinalysis. Investigators say Valuck prescribed painkillers at such an extraordinary rate that certain pharmacies refused to fill the doctor's prescriptions. They accuse him of filling prescriptions at a rate of 3.5 million pills per year.

Although the Curnett case is the first civil lawsuit filed against the former Oklahoma City-area doctor, it will not likely be the last. If convicted of murder and drug distribution, Valuck faces life in prison.