AWL Board Member’s Medical License Suspended 18 Months

CHICAGO RIDGE, IL -- A board member of the embattled Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge is currently suspended from practicing medicine, according to state records. Dr. Lloyd J. Blakeman III, a Palos Heights osteopath, was placed on suspension March 1 by the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation for “inappropriately prescribing controlled substances to a patient at his practice.” The revelation comes after months of eroding public trust in Animal Welfare League, which is currently under probe by the IDFPR and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to those close to the investigation.

Suspended licensees are prohibited from practicing during the suspension term and may be subject to certain other terms and conditions. The term of suspension may be followed by probation. Blakeman’s suspension remains in effect through July 31, 2020.

In September 2017, Blakeman was sued by the family of a 56-year-old man over claims of medical malpractice, negligence and wrongful death. The man was under Blakeman’s care at the Associated Counseling and Wellness Center in Midlothian. Beginning April 19, 2013 when the man began seeing Blakeman, the lawsuit alleged that Blakeman ordered prescriptions for various pain medications, including opiates hydrocodone and oxycodone. The man was also prescribed gabapentin, a drug most often used to treat seizures and nerve pain associated with shingles, and another anti-seizure medication Klonopin, which is sometimes given for opiate withdrawal. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Oak Lawn.)

According to the complaint, the man died Dec. 3, 2015 as a result of combined drug intoxication from hydrocodone, oxycodone and their metabolites hydromorphone and oxymorphone. Blakeman was accused of failing to warn his patient of the dangers of opiates and their highly addictive nature. The lawsuit alleged that Blakeman prescribed the medications for “an unreasonable period of time” and “failed to recognize the dangerous side effects of hydrocodone and oxycodone.” Blakeman also “failed to consider alternative treatments when pharmacological treatment failed to improve the man’s condition,” the complaint said. The lawsuit was quickly settled out of court a month later for $400,000.

Animal Welfare League has been under scrutiny since photos and videos emerged of gravely ill and dying animals bleeding out in cages. The shelter has been criticized by advocates and elected officials for its alleged filthy conditions, over drugging animals and inhumane euthanasia practices. Advocates for reform have called for the firing and/or resignations of the AWL’s board of directors. Blakeman shows up on public records as being a board member since 2016.

DEA agents raided the shelter on Feb. 27. According to insiders present during the raid, agents were searching for expired euthanasia drugs and medical logs after $17,000 worth of tramadol went missing, a highly addictive opioid-based drug used to treat severe pain -- and not Heartgard, a preventative heartworm medication, as was reported by the shelter. Since the raid, Animal Welfare League has been issued a “moderate concern advisory” by the independent watchdog group Charity Navigator.

Long-time AWL executive director and former board president Linda Estrada stepped down in May amid public outcry. AWL board members, in addition to Blakeman, include Michael Francis Byrnes, a podiatrist; board president Chris Higens, Emily Raimondo, Mary Jo Muse, Kristine Christensen, Gail Kinzie, and Christine Bennett, the wife of Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett. The board does not include any members who are veterinarians, pet experts or professionals experienced in animal shelter management needed to lead Animal Welfare League into a direction of reform.

The AWL board members’ terms are said to be up sometime next month, when “lifetime members” will decide whether to renew current board members’ terms or elect new members. Board members declined to comment.

~ Photo by Patch Editor Lorraine Swanson

This story has been updated.