US surgeon gets suspended sentence in Australia

[alp227]

Source: AP

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An American surgeon once accused of killing up to 13 patients through botched operations walked free from an Australian court on Thursday after being given a two-year suspended prison sentence for lying to get a job in a public hospital.

Jayant Patel had pleaded guilty in the Queensland state District Court last week to four fraud charges stemming from his medical registration and employment as chief surgeon at regional Bundaberg Base Hospital from 2003 to 2005.

Patel had failed to declare that the U.S. states of Oregon and New York had placed restrictions on him from performing certain types of surgical procedures, and he continued performing those operations in Australia.

Prosecutors dropped two manslaughter charges and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm that had related to his treatment of patients.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-surgeon-gets-suspended-sentence-australia

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Other sources:

ABC Australia, Former Bundaberg-based doctor Jayant Patel sentenced over fraud charges

Brisbane Times, Jayant Patel walks free from court

The Times of India, Indian-origin surgeon Jayant Patel's trial costs Australia $3.6 million

BBC, Australia ends prosecution of US surgeon Jayant Patel

[cosmicone]

1. He should have been jailed for a long long time

I wonder how he got off so easily.

[SoapBox]

2. Ditto.

WTF is up with this...he should be in prison.

[Violet_Crumble]

3. He was originally found guilty and imprisoned...

He said Dr Patel spent a total of 788 days behind bars after being convicted in 2010 of unlawfully killing one patient and causing grievous bodily harm to another. He had served 131 days of pre-sentence custody.

Patel appealed his convictions in the High Court which ordered retrials.

In the first of the retrials in March this year, however, Brisbane's Supreme Court found Dr Patel not guilty of criminal negligence.

Last week, Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions, Tony Moynihan, QC decided not to proceed with further criminal negligence charges against the former surgeon.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/jayant-patel-walks-free-from-court-20131121-2xwzv.html

That's not justice for the victims and their families

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

4. Criminally negligent seems to describe Dr Patel

I suspect, however, it's going to be a cold day when he gets another job as a surgeon.