After the death of a famous person, the Tennessee Medical Board filed a malpractice charge against Dr. George Nichopoulos in 1977. For what reason?

Following the death of Elvis Presley in August 1977, his personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, came under intense professional and legal scrutiny. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners filed charges against him for professional misconduct, citing the sheer volume of powerful prescription drugs he had authorized for the singer. An investigation revealed that in just the first eight months of 1977, Dr. Nichopoulos had prescribed more than 10,000 doses of various sedatives, amphetamines, and narcotics in Elvis's name.

Dr. Nichopoulos, often called "Dr. Nick," mounted a complex defense. He argued that he was not unscrupulously feeding an addiction but was instead trying to control Elvis's insatiable demand for medication. He claimed that if he had refused, Elvis would have simply found other, less reputable doctors to supply him. Dr. Nick insisted he was attempting to wean the superstar off the powerful drugs, even substituting placebos at times without Elvis's knowledge.

While the story highlighted the immense pressures faced by celebrity doctors, the scale of the prescriptions was undeniable. In this initial 1977 hearing, the board ultimately found him guilty of indiscriminately prescribing medication but chose not to suspend his license. However, Dr. Nick's troubles continued, and after facing further charges and investigations over the years related to other patients, his medical license was permanently revoked in 1995.