License of Late Producer’s Doctor in Jeopardy

Three years after the overdose death of Hollywood producer Don Simpson, the state Medical Board accused Westside psychiatrist Nomi Fredrick of overprescribing addictive drugs and enabling Simpson to persist in his substance abuse.

On Wednesday, the California attorney general’s office served a 90-page formal accusation on Fredrick seeking to revoke her medical license.

The document does not blame Fredrick for Simpson’s death but accuses her of incompetence and gross negligence, contending that she maintained a “clinical state of obliviousness” when he manifested symptoms of a life-threatening illness. The complaint also contends that Fredrick altered medical records after reading an article in The Times about Simpson’s death.

Fredrick’s attorney, David Rosner, said the doctor has done nothing wrong and will fight to keep her license.

“There are many allegations contained in this accusation, and we deny them all,” Rosner said. “Dr. Fredrick is going to vigorously defend herself against each and every allegation.”

The attorney general’s office, which acts as the enforcement arm of the Medical Board of California, is expected to request a trial date this week from the Office of Administration Hearings in an effort to strip Fredrick of her license.

The filing of the accusation follows a protracted legal battle between the medical board and Fredrick, who was forced last summer under court order to surrender a batch of medical records--including Simpson’s--to authorities. The 13 causes of discipline spelled out in the complaint are based on recommendations by a team of experts who evaluated medical records designating the kinds, amounts and frequencies of Fredrick’s drug prescriptions for Simpson and others.

Simpson--whose partnership with producer Jerry Bruckheimer yielded such blockbusters as “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop” and “The Rock”--died Jan. 19, 1996, of an overdose. Traces of 21 drugs were found in his blood.

Many of the pills and capsules that authorities confiscated from Simpson’s Bel-Air estate after his death were prescribed during the summer of 1995, when the producer hired Dr. Stephen Ammerman, along with Fredrick, to conduct what the accusation calls an illegal chemical detoxification program at the producer’s home to help him kick a drug addiction.

That program came to a halt Aug. 15, 1995, when Ammerman was found dead of a drug overdose on Simpson’s estate. According to court records, both Simpson and Ammerman were under the care of Fredrick and being treated for chemical dependency and drug addiction at the time.

Simpson’s death triggered a federal criminal investigation of local doctors and pharmacies that culminated in a raid two years ago on the Westside homes and offices of Fredrick and her mentor, Dr. Robert Hugh Gerner. No action resulted from the criminal inquiry, and the accusation filed Wednesday was the first move by the medical board.

According to the accusation, federal agents confiscated a number of drugs during the raid that Fredrick had prescribed to others but that she had kept for her own “office supplies.” Fredrick engaged in repeated negligent acts by knowingly prescribing drugs to Simpson under an alias for the producer and failing to obtain accurate medical and psychiatric histories of Simpson and other patients, the accusation says.

The board contends that Fredrick failed to keep proper records and repeatedly prescribed excessive amounts of medications that had no documented medical indication. According to the accusation, Fredrick prescribed drugs to people who were not her patients and issued prescriptions for potentially life-threatening amphetamines to a man with documented coronary heart disease without contacting his cardiologist.

The board also accuses Fredrick of abandoning Simpson while he was under her care in August 1995 and of failing to hospitalize him that month.

The board contends that Fredrick’s treatment plans lacked proper monitoring and any clear, coherent and accurate history. Fredrick also engaged in persistent fraudulent and unprofessional behavior, using one patient for personal gain, the accusation says.

The complaint also accuses Fredrick of charging personal items such as diamond jewelry and health spa trips to Simpson’s account without authorization.

The accusation refers to Simpson and other patients by using their initials.

Robert Chapman, attorney for the Simpson estate, said he had not seen the document and declined comment.

This is the second run-in with the medical board for Fredrick. The filing of this week’s accusation follows an unrelated complaint lodged in April by the board against Fredrick in which she was accused of “gross negligence” in the treatment of a female patient six years ago.

A hearing for that case was scheduled for March 22, but that accusation is likely to be consolidated with the board’s new case.