I have come across some interesting articles on this subject. The links to the websites are included for your convenience. This is meant as a follow-up to previous discussions on this board relating to malpractice for undertreatment of pain and whether or not doctors can or do get in trouble for undertreatment.

A serious look at the undertreatment of pain
Inadequate pain care continues to draw regulatory scrutiny, as well-publicized legal decisions over the past several years have underscored the reluctance of some healthcare providers to adequately treat pain.

The Oregon Medical Board, for example, disciplined a doctor for failing to provide pain control to six patients, in one instance treating an elderly cancer patient with acetaminophen and refusing a nurse's request for stronger medication; in another, refusing requests for pain control in a patient in her 30s who required intubation. The doctor did not lose his license but was required to undergo pain training.

Pain issues specific to the elderly, particularly end-of-life issues, are drawing increased attention. In another closely-watched case, California attorneys asserted failure to adequately treat pain in an elderly patient with terminal lung cancer was not only malpractice but qualified as elder abuse.

A judge rejected defense motions to dismiss that claim recognizing that failure to treat pain adequately can constitute elder abuse under California law. In doing so, the authors note, the judge made the elder abuse statute available to elderly patients who receive inadequate treatment for pain.

While medical and nursing boards have, over the past decade, disciplined more physicians and nurses for overprescribing pain medications than underprescribing, that trend is clearly being reversed, as pain patients become more vocal about their needs and national attention turns toward clearly defining the responsibilities of healthcare providers in terms of adequate pain treatment and relief of suffering.

Physicians and nurses, however, remain apprehensive over the possibility over criminal prosecution for pain medications administered to dying patients; since 1990, at least 13 physicians have been investigated for their management of end-of-life patients, some of them tried on murder charges.

It has been assumed that the administration of excessive pain medications could lead to sanctions and even criminal penalties for nurses. Now nurses who administer inadequate pain medication can be investigated and disciplined as well, the authors note. As a result, nurses have become increasingly aware of the importance of statutes and regulations addressing appropriate pain care, including the JCAHO standards and federal and state legislation related to adequate pain control. (Frank-Stromberg M, Christensen A. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. September/October 2001; 5(5): 235-236.)
http://www.partnersagainstpain.com/html/profed/pmc/pe_pmc4.htm?pg=7508§ion=pe_pmc4