Opening statement:
"US doctor’s manslaughter trial opens" by ASSOCIATED PRESS | March 23, 2010
BRISBANE, Australia — A US surgeon charged with killing three Australian patients with unnecessary, sloppy, or antiquated operations pleaded not guilty yesterday to manslaughter.
Don't get sick in Australia, Sameh.
The trial of Dr. Jayant Patel is expected to include testimony from 90 witnesses.
Patel, 59, formerly of New York, has not spoken publicly about the charges, which relate to four patients he treated between 2003 and 2005 at a state-run hospital in Bundaberg, a sugar industry town....
Patel has faced complaints about his competency since the early 1980s, when he practiced in the United States....
No, I don't think I want that national health care.
Closing statement:
"US doctor guilty of killing 3 patients in Australia; Was barred from some surgeries in America" by Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press | June 30, 2010
SYDNEY — An American doctor accused of botching a string of operations while he was the chief surgeon at an Australian hospital was found guilty yesterday of killing three of his patients and grievously harming another.
Jayant Patel, 60, was ordered into police custody until tomorrow’s sentencing after a jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges against him.
Patel had pleaded innocent to three counts of manslaughter and one count of causing grievous bodily harm to four patients he treated while working as director of surgery between 2003 and 2005 at a public hospital in Queensland state.
He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The trial came more than 25 years after questions were first raised about Patel’s competency and marked a milestone for many former patients and their families who have waited years to face the man they accuse of irreparably damaging their lives.
Patel did not visibly react when the guilty verdict was read or when he was led away to jail. His wife, Kishoree Patel, left the courthouse in tears without speaking to reporters.
At the trial, it was revealed that Patel had been banned by US authorities from carrying out some of the procedures he undertook when he later moved to Australia. He had failed to inform his new employers about the restrictions....
--more--"
