Former Highland Park doc denies over-prescribing painkillers

A former Highland Park physician pleaded not guilty Thursday to drug charges authorities say are based on his over-prescribing painkillers.

Three of Gerald Kane's patients died while taking the pills he gave them, police said. Kane has not been charged with responsibility for the deaths.

Assistant State's Attorney Stephen Scheller said Kane, 75, is accused of prescribing massive doses of the painkillers Vicodin and Oxycontin for patients between 2004 and 2007.

Scheller said the drugs were contributing factors in the 2006 deaths of a 39-year-old Highwood man and a 45-year-old Highland Park man and the 2007 death of a 47-year-old man from Buffalo Grove.

Patient records were seized from his office during a raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and that agency revoked Kane's license to prescribe medication last year.

Kane surrendered his license to practice as an orthopedic surgeon shortly after the DEA action.

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman told Kane he faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of delivery of a controlled substance. A trial is scheduled for July 14.