Jayant Mukundray Patel (born April 10, 1950 [citation needed]) is an Indian-born American surgeon who was accused of gross negligence whilst working at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia.
In June 2010, he was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and one case of grievous bodily harm, and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
[2] A retrial for one of the manslaughter counts resulted in acquittal and led to a plea deal where Patel pleaded guilty to fraud and the remaining charges were dropped.
By this time, Patel had been involved in a string of problem cases, eight of which had prompted or would later lead to malpractice or wrongful death lawsuits.
In 1998, Kaiser Permanente restricted Patel's practice; he was instructed not to operate on the liver or pancreas and to seek second opinions before performing other surgeries.
In September 2000, after reviewing four cases involving the deaths of three patients, the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners made Patel's restriction statewide.
[9] Even though his medical license had been restricted, Patel still received glowing letters of recommendation from his colleagues at Kaiser Permanente.
On June 10, Morris released an interim report that was tabled on the same day in State Parliament by Premier Beattie.
The report recommended, among other things, that Patel be charged with murder or manslaughter in respect to one patient, with causing "a negligent act causing harm" to another patient, that he also be charged with fraud in relation to his registration at the Medical Board of Queensland to practise medicine and that extradition proceedings should begin.
[23] The new inquiry began on September 8, 2005, and was headed by former Supreme Court of Queensland judge Justice Geoffrey Davies QC.
The Nationals won the seat with a two-party-preferred swing of 6.3%, which was largely attributed to the inquiries surrounding the scandal, as well as the retirement of incumbent Labor member Nita Cunningham.
[28] He appeared in court that day with a court-appointed attorney, telling Federal Magistrate Dennis Hubel that he was unable to afford a lawyer, after incurring significant pre-trial legal fees.
In response, the Magistrate ordered Patel, who lived in a $900,000 house, to fill out a financial affidavit before an upcoming detention hearing.
Marshals handed Patel over to two officers from the Queensland Police Service at Los Angeles International Airport on July 19, who then escorted him onboard Qantas flight QF 176.
[31] Patel was taken immediately to the Brisbane watch-house and was granted bail by the Roma Street Magistrates Court the same day.
On August 24, 2012, the High Court unanimously allowed the appeal and quashed Patel's convictions on the ground that prejudicial evidence had likely influenced the jury.
[40] In a television documentary on the case aired by CNN in November 2010 as part of its "World's Untold Stories" series and entitled "They Called Him 'Dr.
[41][42][43] In response to the case, Peter Beattie fired the Director General, Robert Stable and changes were made to funding, the operations of the medical board, and the procedures for handling concerns raised by whistle blowers.