A suburban Chicago doctor, who in one legal action is facing accusations he improperly sued pharmacies for faxing prescription requests to him, is alleging in a different unconnected lawsuit that a different doctor, who now faces sentencing after pleading guilty to improperly prescribing opioids, capitalized on the coincidence of having the same name as the first doctor to abet an illegal drug dispensing operation.
Dr. Jay Joshi lodged a suit Aug. 9 in Chicago federal court against Dr. Jay K. Joshi.
Dr. Jay Joshi, who referred to himself in his suit as the “Real Dr. Joshi,” said he focuses on pain management, practicing in suburban Vernon Hills, Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove Village. He runs National Pain Centers and described himself as an “internationally renowned pain doctor.”
The other Dr. Joshi is from Burr Ridge, practicing in the Chicago area and Indiana through Prestige Clinics, until his medical license was revoked, according to records.
The plaintiff Dr. Joshi calls the other doctor the “Imitator Joshi.”
The alleged imitator Joshi pleaded guilty July 26 in federal court to illegally dispensing opioids. He is to be sentenced Nov. 15, according to court records.
The plaintiff Joshi alleged the other Joshi is an “opportunistic physician cum business person,” who hijacked plaintiff’s good name.
“The Imitator Joshi intentionally misappropriated the Real Dr. Joshi’s commercial reputation and credentials in order to deceive patients and others into believing that he, the Imitator Joshi, was a pain medicine expert.
“Then, the Imitator Joshi, despite having no experience whatsoever in pain medicine, used the Real Dr. Joshi’s name, reputation, and credibility to transform his modest family medicine practice into a lucrative money making opioid ‘pill mill,’ where the Imitator Joshi wantonly dispensed and over prescribed dangerous and addictive drugs with complete disregard for medical standards, guidelines, and practices,” plaintiff Joshi alleged.
Further, plaintiff Joshi alleged the other Joshi misappropriated plaintiff Joshi’s credentials and online patient reviews, and used plaintiff Joshi’s online contact information on professional and profile pages.
The plaintiff Joshi claimed the public has been confused into misbelieving he is the disgraced doctor. The consequences have been “devastating” for him, which includes being “decimated financially,” but with other injuries that cannot be “quantified or captured,” he said.
The plaintiff Joshi said the alleged actions of the other Joshi especially harmed him, because he has been at the forefront of the fight against reckless opioid prescriptions.
The plaintiff is alleging defendant infringed and diluted his trade name, engaged in unjust enrichment and consumer fraud.
In another suit from May, plaintiff Joshi alleged Osco, CVS and Walgreens breached a federal law prohibiting unsolicited advertisement faxes. Specifically, he claimed the pharmacies sent dozens of faxes every day, which he alleged were soliciting him and his doctors to write new prescriptions as a way of increasing revenue for the drug retailers.
On July 5, the pharmacies asked for the suit to be thrown out and asked for the court to sanction Joshi and order him to pay their legal bills, alleging he was trying to “extort money” from them and his suit was “neither rooted in law or common sense.”
The companies contended their faxes were routine prescription refill authorization communications.
Mikhael Bortz, of Bortz Law Firm in Chicago, is representing Joshi in his suit against the other doctor Joshi.
In Joshi’s suit against the drug retailers, he is represented by the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman, of suburban Northbrook.