By Jake Becker
A Delray Beach doctor was arrested and charged in the death of a 50-year-old patient, who overdosed on methadone, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Dr. Barry Schultz, 57, was charged with one count of homicide negligent manslaughter and one count of writing an unlawful prescription. His bail was set at $50,000 for the first charge and $25,000 for the second.
According to a sheriff’s arrest affidavit, Schultz prescribed a lethal amount of methadone to his patient, David Tain, who died from an overdose.
Schultz’s license to practice medicine in Florida has been suspended, according to records from the Florida’s Department of Health. He began practicing as a medical doctor in January 1987.
In March 2011, Sheriff’s investigators seized medical records that showed about 45 of Schultz’s patients had received “excessive quantities” of oxycodone and methadone during an eight month period, according to the arrest report.
Barry was arrested in 2011 for illegally distributing more than 60,000 tablets of oxycodone to at least six of his patients continually over a nine month period and overprescribing painkillers to almost three dozen of his patients, investigators said.
This resulted in the suspension of his medical license and jail time.