Massachusetts Doctor Gets Sentenced to Jail for Death of Patient
On Tuesday, September 14th, 2009, a Massachusetts doctor, Rapin Osathanondh,was sentenced to six months in jail (three months in prison followed by nine months of home confinement with electronic monitoring) and three years probation for pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a 22-year-old Cape Cod woman who died on September 13, 2007 from “cardiac pulmonary arrest during anesthesia during a voluntary termination of pregnancy”, according to officials. The woman, Laura Smith, had an elective abortion at the Women’s Health Center in Hyannis in 2007 and, while under anesthesia, went into cardiopulmonary arrest. The Board of Registration in Medicine contended that Dr. Osathanondh “engaged in conduct that calls into question his competence to practice medicine.” After the Board completed its investigation, the doctor’s medical license was suspended, and he then resigned permanently from the practice of medicine.
It is quite rare that the death of a patient from anesthesia complications due to medical malpractice is considered a criminal matter. In this case, however, it is clear that Osathanondh’s actions were more egregious. The abortion practitioner did not monitor her vital signs or provide oxygen, did not have a functioning blood pressure cuff, and did not call 911 in a timely manner. Also, his assistant during the procedure was an office worker with no CPR or resuscitation training. Eileen Smith, the mother of Laura Smith, was shocked by the details of Rapin Osathanondh’s practice: “He has no medical staff, just a receptionist and a hand holder…. This doctor is practicing third-world medicine in the medical mecca of the world. This goes beyond medical negligence.”
As a result of an investigation conducted by Swartz & Swartz, P.C., incriminating evidence was obtained against the doctor, which was provided to the District Attorney’s office and the Board of Registration in Medicine. A criminal indictment for involuntary manslaughter was issued. On September 13, 2010, the third anniversary of Laura Smith’s death, the Defendant agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
As part of the agreement of the sentencing on Tuesday, September 14, 2010, Osathanondh was given twenty-four hours to make arrangements to settle the civil lawsuit that Swartz & Swartz, P.C. filed on behalf of Laura Smith’s parents. Through negotiations with Swartz & Swartz, P.C., Osathanondh agreed to pay the family two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) for the wrongful death of Laura Smith. According to Swartz & Swartz, P.C., “both cases are the family’s quest for justice for Smith.” Eileen Smith said: “Nobody won. Laura got justice, but it’s a tragedy all the way around.”
This case sets a precedent for legal and medical practitioners and prosecutors across the nation — medical practitioners can and should be held criminally accountable for their reckless and grossly negligent conduct resulting in the death of their patients. Now, not only will such physicians be charged civilly, but hopefully, in appropriate circumstances, justice and public safety will be served when criminal charges are also pursued. Most importantly, it will serve as a deterrent so such preventable deaths due to medical malpractice will not happen again. For more information on protecting your rights, and options following medical negligence, please contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, P.C. for a free consultation.
By David P. Angueira of Swartz & Swartz P.C. – Permalink
Related posts:
Great writing! I wish you could follow up on this topic
Hey Thanh, cool story bro??
-Kind regards
Lana
Genial post and this enter helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.
I am very glad you wrote this post.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Sorry for my bad english. Thank you so much for your good post. Your post helped me in my college assignment, If you can provide me more details please email me.
This is the best read I read this year?
Great post! You should definitely follow up on this topic
I think this blog post was really a great kick off to a potential series of articles about this topic. Most people pretend to comprehend what they’re talking about when it comes to this topic and generally, hardly anyone actually get it. You seem to really dominate it however, so I think you should run with it. Thanks a lot!
Cover of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly – Swartz & Swartz, P.C. attorney, David P. Angueira, represented the parents of a young woman who died due to a botched procedure, and achieved a $2 Million settlement the same day that the doctor was sentenced to a 6 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. Doctors must be held accountable for their actions and regulations must be put in place to protect patients from harm.
Interesting article and one which should be more widely known about in my view. Your level of detail is good and the clarity of writing is excellent. I have bookmarked it for you so that others will be able to see what you have to say.
Hello from the fashion market, I truly recognize the perform you’ve carried out in this report, it was a good read.
You not going to believe this but I have lost all day searching for some articles about this. I wish I knew of this site earlier, it was a fantastic read and really helped me out. Have a good one
Detailed post do you mind if i link this on my site? Thanks
Useful article would it be OK if i translate into French for my sites viewers? Thanks
Your website is great! This post really caught my eye when I was searching around. Thanks for sharing it.
We just couldnt leave your website before saying that we really enjoyed the useful information you offer to your visitors… Will be back often to check up on new stuff you post!
This is my first time visiting your blog.
I don’t usually post on blogs but had to on yours. You have a very easy to read writing style. I really enjoy posts about this topic, they give me a lot to reflect on. I don’t have time to read everything right now, I found this site when looking for something else on Yahoo, but I’ve bookmarked your homepage and will check back soon to see the latest thoughts.
I can see that you are an expert in this area. I am starting a website soon, and your information will be very useful for me.. Thanks for all your help and wishing you all the success in your business.
Thanks for posting, I like this blog!
Howdy, I noticed your own web site as a result of Msn while searching for 1st aid for a heart attack and your post seems to be really interesting for me.
Nice blog! I got a lot of great info! I’ve been keeping an eye on this technology for awhile!
I like design of your site What is the name of template ?
Really good site. Thank you for writing.
Came your blog from facebook Your column had become a lot appreciated. congratulations! You do hire someone to compose this blog post? It’s newspaper quality from what I see its been composed by a professional.
Nice site you got here, very awesome and good content. Thanks!
I am frequently interested in somebody to trade posts along with, I’m a university student and have a weblog right here on our university web-site. The subject of your web log and writting style would go great in some of my category’s, inform me if you’re up for this.
Really cool blog. Thank you for posting.
Really good stuff. Thank you for writing.
I like your site theme. What template did you use ?
Thanks for the great work! Cool blog. You will find several opinions on this topic and this blog states the issue very great.
I have been exploring on the internet looking to get ideas on how to get our web site coded, your overall style together with theme are excellent. Did you code it yourself or did you get a coder to get it done for you?
I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this info for my mission.
Pretty impressive post. I just stumbled upon your site and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be coming back and I hope you post again soon.
Sensible stuff, I expect reading more.
i bookmarked this! looking for updates…
keep up the nice work on the site. I like it. Could maybe use some more updates more often, but i’m quite sure that you got some better or other things to do , hehe. =p
Wow!, this was a top quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I keep putting it off and never seem to get something done
*Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.
Hi there, I found your blog via Google while searching for a related topic, your site came up, it looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
I was anxious because of few inconveniences I encountered. Owing to your notice since now I understand what to do. With this guidance I consider it as easier.
Rattling instructive and superb anatomical structure of content , now that’s user pleasant (:.
Most of my friends go through news flash or do a bit of chatting, when we finally get some minute’s respite from our work. But, owing to Google, I’ve stumbled upon this amazing site and learned a new resourceful way to kill my leisure time. And so, please, do keep your posts updated!
This actually answered the problem, thanks!
I’d constantly want to be update on new posts on this site, saved to my bookmarks ! .
wonderful issues altogether, you just gained a emblem new reader. What could you suggest about your post that you simply made some days ago? Any certain?
Hey very nice website!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find a lot of useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.
Hi, You make great use of your words in this article. I am impressed with the valid points of interest you make here and I agree. I have considered starting a blog myself. Thanks.
Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!
I discovered your weblog site on google and test a number of of your early posts. Proceed to maintain up the very good operate. I simply further up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. In search of ahead to studying more from you in a while!…
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
Hi! I like this site. A lot of helpful design. Thank you, I think to stay here 4 a long time
Massachusetts Doctor Gets Sentenced to Jail for Death of Patient | Massachusetts and New England Personal Injury Lawyer Blog I was recommended this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You are amazing! Thanks! your article about Massachusetts Doctor Gets Sentenced to Jail for Death of Patient | Massachusetts and New England Personal Injury Lawyer BlogBest Regards Shane
You made some respectable points there. I searched on the internet for the difficulty and located most people will associate with together with your website.
massinjurylawyerblog.com is absolute awsome
euro 2012 zakłady bukmacherskie