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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SiouxPal who wrote (14442)	4/24/2005 8:59:05 PM
From: geode00	Respond to of 361303

Why not? Dr Death' may not be punished By Khalid A-H Ansari in Sydney Saturday, 23 April , 2005, 10:20 Jayant Patel, dubbed 'Dr Death' for allegedly being responsible for the premature deaths of 20 patients in Queensland’s Bundaberg Base Hospital, who has absconded to Gujarat, will probably escape punishment. Australian Medical Association resident Bill Glasson said on Friday that Patel might be charged for lying to the medical board to seek appointment as director of the Surgery Department, but further charges were unlikely because the medical board had authorised him to work as a surgeon. Read: Indian surgeon flees Australia According to whistle-blower senior nurse, Toni Hoffman, nicknamed ‘Erin Brockovich’ after the movie character, India-born, USA-educated Jayant Patel was guilty of amazing incompetence, which led to the deaths and which hit the headlines all over Australia earlier this month. The Queensland state coroner has pledged an inquiry amid allegations that Patel falsified death certificates and tried to bury his patients before an autopsy. The surgeon was reportedly debarred from practising in the US in 2000, for 'dishonourable conduct and gross or repeated acts of negligence', which led to three deaths, before moving to Australia. Australian solicitors are now preparing multi-million dollar claims for damages. Ian Dobinson, a senior law lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, said it was unlikely Patel would ever be extradited to Australia (this country does not have an extradition treaty with India). According to Dobinson, the maximum penalty for providing false or misleading information when applying for registration is Aus$3,750 (approx Rs 1.2 lakh) fine. He added it was difficult to prove criminal negligence because incompetence was not grounds alone for conviction. "If there is evidence to support a charge of negligent manslaughter then that could form the basis of extradition proceedings. But if a conviction is unlikely, he could use that to oppose any extradition order, and that would take place in the US courts." A taxpayer-funded compensation scheme may be established for the victims following Queensland premier Peter Beattie's admission that the state would be open to legal liability for the doctor's term at the hospital. "Anyone who has a bona fide claim will be treated with courtesy and respect," he said. The scandal concerning the Indian doctor has lead to the Queensland Medical Board reviewing the credentials of all overseas-trained doctors practising in the state.