Dr Death found guilty

India-born surgeon Dr Jayant Patel, dubbed Dr Death, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of three patients and grievous bodily harm of a fourth at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, Queensland, will be sentenced tomorrow

India-born surgeon Dr Jayant Patel, dubbed Dr Death, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of three patients and grievous bodily harm of a fourth at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, Queensland, will be sentenced tomorrow.

The case, in which 76 witnesses were involved, is one of the longest in the Queensland Supreme Court's history.

Khalidoscope first broke this story in India in 2004 and has tracked it through Dr Patel's refuge in Oregon, USA and the protracted legal battle that led to his extradition to Australia.

The jury delivered its verdict in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday evening after seven days of deliberations in the 14-week-long case.

Sixty-year old Dr Patel fled to the US after the deaths came to light but was extradited following an uproar in the Australian media and a prolonged legal battle. He has been found guilty of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm.

Asked after the verdict was read out if he had anything to say, he replied, "No your honour".

Justice be done: Dr Jayant Patel, convicted for killing three Australian patients during surgeries, will be sentenced tomorrow. Pic/AFP

As he was led away, Dr Patel looked straight ahead and did not turn to look at his sobbing wife, who had left the courtroom earlier but returned in time to hear the verdict.

The prosecution argued during the case that the three patients -- James Phillips (60), Gary Kemps (77), and Mervyn Morris (75) -- would not have died but for Dr Patel's decision to operate on them. The surgeon worked as chiefu00a0 of surgery at the hospital between 2003 and 2005.

Dangerous surgeries
The court was told that the surgeries, oesophagectomies, on Phillips and Kemps, a major colon operation on Morris and an operation to remove Ian Vowels' healthy bowel were all "dangerous, unnecessary and inappropriate".

The prosecution charged that the operations on the three men should not have been performed at the hospital since it did not have the resources for such major procedures.

The 12-person jury -- six men and six women -- was told the surgeon was not competent to perform oesophagectomies because he had been banned from doing so without seeking a second opinion in Oregon, where he worked before moving to Bundaberg.

The prosecution also pointed out that Dr Patel had not performed any surgery in two years preceding the beginning of his term at Bundaberg and it had been even longer since he had done any major operation.

'Patients' benefit'
Dr Patel's barrister, Michael Byrne QC, argued that his client had performed the surgeries for the benefit of his patients, all of whom wanted to be cured from their ill health.

He said each surgery had been done with the patient's consent and that his client's conduct during the surgeries did not amount to criminal negligence and the jury should therefore find him not guilty of all charges.

In his summing up last week, Justice John Byrne advised the jury the Oregon, USA, order did not affect
Dr Patel's ability to practise as a surgeon in Queensland.
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(Source: Sydney Morning Herald and agencies)