WOMAN SUES LATE HUSBAND'S PHYSICIAN

BAY MINETTE -- A former Gulf Shores doctor faces allegations in civil court
that he prescribed OxyContin to a man he knew was hooked on drugs, helping
to cause his death from an overdose two years ago.

Walter "Sandy" Wade of the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook died May 8,
2002 at his part-time residence on Collegiate Lane in Orange Beach. His
death drew statewide attention because his body was discovered by Brian
Burgdorf, a backup quarterback on the University of Alabama's 1992 national
championship football team.

A lawsuit filed in Baldwin County Circuit Court in May accuses Joe Howle
Sox of prescribing OxyContin and Valium to Wade two days before his death.
A combination of Valium and OxyContin, a painkiller, caused the fatal
overdose, according to an autopsy performed by the Alabama Department of
Forensic Sciences.

The suit, brought on behalf of Wade's estate by his widow, Vanderbilt
Parker Hare Wade, seeks unspecified damages. A court date has not been set.

Although the suit was filed in May, Sox was not formally served papers
until the end of June. The plaintiff's attorney, Bay Minette lawyer Daniel
Blackburn, said he received word that Sox received the lawsuit via
certified mail to a Gulf Shores post office box.

"He had actual knowledge that Sandy Wade was suffering from an OxyContin
addiction, and he did it anyway," said Blackburn, who declined to reveal
how Sox knew his patient had no medical problems.

Reached by telephone at his home in Foley, Sox denied wrongdoing. He
acknowledged prescribing OxyContin -- but not Valium -- and said he did so
only after a thorough examination indicated Wade suffered from debilitating
back problems.

Sox, 66, said he has not worked since the state revoked his medical license
in November 2002. He said he suffers from congestive heart failure, high
blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments and is in the process of filing
for bankruptcy.

The Alabama Medical Licensure Commission revoked Sox's medical license in
November 2002 after hearing evidence presented by the Board of Medical
Examiners. The commission cited "neurocognitive impairment which affects
his ability to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to
patients." Sox last week ridiculed that assessment.

A grand jury reviewed Wade's death, but Baldwin County District Attorney
David Whetstone said state law makes it extremely difficult to bring
criminal charges against doctors regarding drug overdoses. He said state
Supreme Court decisions have made no distinction between willful cases of
doctors' abusive prescription writing and mere negligence.

Whetstone said he felt the evidence would have been strong enough to level
criminal charges in the case in other states, such as Florida.

"We looked to bring criminal charges against him; we just couldn't figure
out a way to do it," said Whetstone, who added that he met last week with
potential members of a task force he plans to form to investigate
prescription drug abuse.

Sox's medical records indicate that Wade suffered from chronic back pain,
according to the lawsuit. But the complaint alleges that this was not so.

The lawsuit also accuses Sox of post-dating a prescription he wrote on May
6 for May 22. That prescription was found in Wade's car after his death,
according to the suit. Whetstone confirmed that authorities did find a
post-dated prescription.

According to the suit, Sox shortly after Wade's death left an outgoing
message on his office answering machine denying that he writes
prescriptions for OxyContin and that Wade's prescription was a forgery.

In an interview, Sox said he was introduced to Wade about a year before his
death by Rose Stabler, wife of former NFL great Kenny Stabler, a resident
of south Baldwin County. He said he knew Wade socially but had not treated
him as a patient until that day in May 2002. He said Wade suffered from
severe pain to his back, leg and sciatic nerve.

Sox said he prescribed him 60- to 80-milligram OxyContin pills, which he
described as standard low-dose medication. He said Wade suffered addiction
but added that this is a normal side effect of powerful painkillers like
OxyContin and insisted he believed Wade had his addiction under control.

The lawsuit lists Rose Stabler and Burgdorf as potential witnesses in the
case. Whetstone said Rose Stabler was with Wade the night before he died.

Sox expressed sympathy for Wade's family.

"My heart will always go out to Robin Wade, the father of Sandy Wade, who
lost one of his sons," he said.