Oklahoma Medical Board To Decide Fate Of Doctor After Patient Dies Of Overdose

Chris Wright, News On 6

UNDATED -- A Green Country doctor faces serious consequences after one of his patients dies of an overdose.

The State Medical Board was expected to decide Dr. Mickey Ray Tyrrell's fate Thursday afternoon. Authorities say he prescribed hundreds of pain pills to a woman who later overdosed on them.

9/10/2010 Related Story: Vinita Doctor Accused Of Over Prescribing

Tammy Dawn Daniels, 35, was found dead in her Vinita home in September 2009. Authorities say she overdosed on Demerol, which they say she crushed and injected into her body.

According to a complaint filed by the Attorney General's office, Daniels got the painkillers from Doctor Mickey Ray Tyrrell. He practices family medicine in Vinita.

The complaint alleges that Tyrrell had been Daniels's doctor since March of 2007. Daniels was diagnosed with a painful bladder condition, and the complaint says Tyrell began giving her Demerol and Oxycontin in June of 2009.

The Attorney General's Office claims he prescribed her an astounding amount of drugs. In only three months, the complaint says she was given 990 50 milligram doses of Demerol, and 120 20 milligram doses of Oxycontin.

The complaint states that Tyrrell did not properly document the prescriptions he handed out at his office. Even though Daniels was given nine, authorities say he only documented two on her chart. Three days after she received her final prescription, Daniels was found dead.

According the Oklahoma Medical Board, Tyrrell had never been disciplined before.

Daniels had worked as a nurse at Grove General Hospital and Craig General in Vinita. In 2007, she began teaching nursing at Northeast Technology Center.