Judge Returns the Majority of Rush Limbaugh's Medical Records to His Attorney

January 6, 2004

MIAMI, FL - July 6, 2005 -- Roy Black, Rush Limbaugh's attorney, issued the following statement regarding the release today of some of Rush Limbaugh's medical records to investigators and the return of most of the records to Mr. Limbaugh.

I am confident that the State Attorney will find nothing in these records to support a charge of doctor shopping, because there was no doctor shopping. The records show that Mr. Limbaugh received legitimate medical treatment for legitimate medical reasons.

We are grateful to Judge Barkdull for providing the review of the records for relevancy that we requested. Most of the records were returned to me today, and were not given to the prosecutors. This proves our point that the State's wholesale seizure of Mr. Limbaugh's medical records was improper.

The prescription records that are in the search warrant affidavits should be put in perspective. Of the 2,130 pills prescribed, only 1,863 were painkillers, and of those only 1,733 were for hydrocodone. These were to be taken over a period of 217 days, from the date of the first prescription until 30 days from the date of the last prescription. The dose averages out to a little over eight pills a day, which is not excessive and is in fact a lawful dose.

Ninety-two percent of the pain medication was prescribed by two doctors who were treating Mr. Limbaugh for back pain. They work in the same office from the same medical file, and there could be no doctor shopping between them. One of these doctors also prescribed 117 pills of a drug used to treat high blood pressure or to help wean patients off of painkillers.

The other two doctors are the California surgeon who implanted the cochlear implant to restore Mr. Limbaugh's hearing and a Florida doctor he was seeing for follow up on the surgery. Of the 180 pills prescribed by the surgeon, 100 were vitamin pills. Of the 110 pills prescribed by the fourth doctor, 50 were non-painkillers prescribed for tinnitus, ringing in the ears.

The bottom line is that these prescription records might tell a story, but it is not a story of doctor shopping. We continue to believe that Mr. Limbaugh is being pursued by overzealous prosecutors and that he should not be charged with any crime.

We also continue to believe that the search warrants were issued based on faulty and misleading statements from investigators and that the search was improper under both state and federal law. If necessary, we will renew our motion to suppress all of the records at a later date.

God Bless,
Dan'L