US
Dr. Priya Ramnath convicted over lethal injection for killing
woman in 1998 in UK
Given six-month suspended jail
London, Feb. 07, 2009
Sadhu Singh
NRI Dr. Priya Ramnath, 40, an anesthesiologist has given six-month
suspended jail term*, guilty of killing the patient by giving
the woman a fatal injection of adrenalin against the advice of
three colleagues.
In July 1998, Patricia Leighton, 51, of Staffordshire, went into
hospital after a wound on a bunion on her left foot infected.
She died from heart failure shortly after she was injected with
the drug. After the injection, she jerked forward in her bed and
exclaimed: "What's happening to me? I am going to die."
She lost consciousness shortly afterwards.
In UK, Dr. Priya Ramnath was a junior resident and it is alleged
that Dr. Ramnath injected 3 cc of Adrenaline to resuscitate the
patient Patricia Leighton which resulted in her death. Adrenaline
is used for septic infections and few other medical treatments.
It is a naturally occurring hormone
The Police said, about one week after the death of Mrs Leighton
, Dr. Priya Ramnath resigned from her post and flew to Orlando,
Florida. to join her husband Seshadrinathan Ramnath who was already
a US Citizen. She got training at University of South Florida
and worked in Tampa and then moved to Texas
After five years, British government filed an involuntary manslaughter
charge against Ramnath.
- On Aug. 18, 2007, Extradition was requested
- On. Nov. 30, 2007, she was arrested by U.S. Marshals at Woodland
Heights Medical Center in Lufkin where she worked at the time
as an anesthesiologist and has been denied bail twice citing
flight risk.
Dr. Priya Ramnath''s defense attorney Al Charanza, Jr. called
the british government's accusations an attempt to criminalize
the practice of medicine. He said Ramnath acted in an attempt
to save a dying woman's life.
Dr John Coakley of Homerton hospital, London, expert in intensive
care medicine called by the defence said he believed Leighton
had died of septic shock rather than because of the adrenaline
injection.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Bladen said the inquiry as complicated
and highly unusual. "This was an extreme case whereby a doctor
refused to acknowledge and act on advice given by other senior
medical staff that caused someone's unnecessary death."
Ben Rose, Dr Ramnath's lawyer said she treated an apparently
dying patient at 3am. She did everything she could to save the
patient's life. Ten years later, the CPS accuses her of manslaughter.
This is the reason she spent Christmas and New Year in custody
without her two children and husband
A senior US federal judge has expressed grave concerns regarding
the case and granted bail after carefully reviewed the evidence
A jury found Dr. Priya Ramnath guilty by a 10 to 2 decision because:
- It was a gross negligence and Mrs Leighton would have lived
longer.
- Ramnath's defining error was that she had chosen not to listen
to a senior nurse working alongside her.
The judge said, "Arrogance has cost you your reputation."
-----------------------------------------
*"suspended jail time" means:
I am not a Professional in these matters, but do know that
Suspended jail time means you are on probation for a certain amount
of time. If you get "caught" doing anything wrong again,
during this time, you might possibly end up in jail!
Delayed and suspended sentences are usually available for
younger offenders, and for people facing their first conviction
for possession of a controlled substance. A defendant eligible
for a delayed or suspended sentence means that if the defendant
successfully completes probation, the criminal conviction will
not be placed on his record. If not (i.e. you get pulled in by
the police for anything else during that period), you usually
have to serve the full sentence............................................Gary
Singh, LA
