A doctor accused of being drunk at work charged with the death of three patients

A former doctor at a veterans hospital in Arkansas, accused of being intoxicated at work, has been indicted for several counts, including Involuntary manslaughter after the death of three patients from his cancer.

Robert Morris Levy was arrested on Friday after a federal grand jury charged him with twelve counts of electronic and postal fraud, four false statements and three counts of manslaughter, the bureau said. Western District Attorney of Arkansas in the United States. press release Tuesday.

According to the authorities, Levy caused the death of three patients in the Ozarks Veterans Health System in Fayetteville by making misleading or incorrect diagnoses.

In one case, one patient died of prostate cancer after Levy reportedly claimed that their biopsy showed no signs of cancer, according to KTLA. In another case, a patient with small cell carcinoma died after being treated for the wrong kind of cancer.

A third patient died of squamous cell carcinoma after Levy diagnosed him with another form of carcinoma, reported KTLA.

The US Attorney's Office reportedly concealed his mistakes, but Levy changed the records of two patients to falsely claim that a second pathologist had accepted his diagnosis.

"From the first day, we made this case a priority," said US lawyer Duane Kees at the press conference Tuesday, adding that there could be other victims. "It will remain a priority until this case is closed because our veterans deserve nothing less."

The investigators did not reveal the names of the patients nor the date of death.

Directors received complaints in 2015 and 2016 that Mr. Levy was under the influence of alcohol while he was on duty as a pathologist in the hospital where he was employed since 2005, according to the US Attorney's Office.

As a result of the 2016 incident, he started a three-month treatment program and returned to work in October. He also agreed to submit blood and urine samples for random testing, the US Attorney's Office said.

All samples were negative for drugs and alcohol, but a survey revealed that he was taking a chemical "that allows a person to reach a state of intoxication, but that is not detectable in the methodology habitual screening of drugs and alcohol ".

Kees said the substance Levy was taking was not meant for human ingestion and he knew how to take it, so that it would not be fatal.

Levy was discharged from the hospital in 2018 after it was discovered that he had been impaired in the performance of his duties, the agency reported. Associated Press.

He was indicted on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. A trial date is scheduled for October, according to Kees. When he is convicted of all counts, Levy risks up to 524 years in prison.