whdh.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a family doctor from New Hampshire was accused of sexually assaulting one of his patients. The 63-year-old physician, Steven Chern, was charged with sexual assault. Police said it happened at Dr. Chern’s office at Bow Mills Family Practice. The victim is a 29-year-old female patient. In court papers the woman complained over the last year that Dr. Chern had been acting inappropriately toward her. About a month ago when the patient came to Chern with a thyroid issue she claims the inappropriate actions escalated.

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pressrepublican.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a Plattsburgh anesthesiologist has been found negligent in the care of a 70-year-old woman who died in December 2007 following surgery to remove an infected gall bladder. During a civil court case in Clinton County Court, a jury found Dr. Richard Todd guilty of medical malpractice/ negligence that caused the death of Plattsburgh resident Ruth Rosoff, who died from intra-abdominal bleeding and persistent low blood pressure. "This was just a horrific situation," said Daniel Santola, an Albany attorney specializing in medical malpractice suits, who represented the Rosoff family. "There were a series of conditions that should not have occurred."

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mcall.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a father and son who operated a medical practice in Franconia Township filled so many illegal prescriptions over the past year that it led to prescription drug abuse, overdose deaths and an increase in drug-fueled crimes in Montgomery and Bucks counties, authorities said. Dr. Richard Ruth, 76, of Franconia Township, and Michael Ruth, 43, of Sellersville, were arrested Thursday and charged with a number of drug offenses after a yearlong drug investigation that started when Montgomery and Bucks County police departments noticed an upswing in crime in their areas. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said police allegedly recovered painkillers prescribed by Dr. Ruth during arrests for crimes in Franconia Township, Hilltown Township and Telford and that his pill bottles were also found at the scene of overdose deaths, authorities said.

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northernstar.info on October 27, 2011 reported tjhat a doctor from the Sauk Medical Center, who has offices in Sterling and DeKalb, has had his physician & surgeon and controlled substance licenses suspended for allegedly prescribing drugs to patients without properly evaluating them, according to documents received from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). According to the documents, Dr. Richard Ng's action constituted "an immediate danger to the public." During the course of the DEA's investiation of Ng, agents learned several patients of Ng's died of polyphamarcy and/or multiple drug intoxication. The DEA executed a federal search warrant in July at the Sauk Medical Clinic, 705 W. Third St. in Sterling, during which, evidence was seized as part of the investigation.

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fox19.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a central Indiana doctor who faces charges that he excessively prescribed drugs and had sex with some of his female patients has been suspended pending the outcome of his criminal trial. An Indiana attorney general's office spokeswoman says the state's Medical Licensing Board voted Thursday to suspend Dr. Ray Howell's license indefinitely. The 57-year-old Roachdale physician was arrested last week on 15 felony counts, 12 of which accuse him of recklessly distributing a controlled substance.

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qchron.com on October 27, 2011 reported that two doctors and seven retired Long Island Rail Road employees are among 11 defendants charged Thursday in connection with an ongoing investigation into more than $1 billion in alleged pension fraud dating back to 1998. And the FBI agent in charge of the investigation is warning LIRR retirees that more arrests are imminent. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Manhattan said the retirees worked with so-called facilitators prior to their retirements, to be examined by one of three doctors who, for a fee, would recommend that they be given disability pensions from the national Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) on top of their LIRR pensions. Yet investigations begun in 2008, allegedly show that disabled workers were able to perform lengthy, vigorous workouts at gyms, shovel heavy show for long periods, play regular rounds of golf, conduct landscaping and other businesses demanding bending down and heavy lifting, and in one case, go on a 400-mile bicycle tour.

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petaluma360.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a Petaluma woman claims her 80-year-old mother suffered from malnutrition, dehydration and infection that resulted in hospitalization due to negligence, neglect and misrepresentation at a Petaluma nursing home and at the hands of a home health care agency. A lawsuit filed by Billie Walter on behalf of her mother, Elizabeth Walter, claims that on Feb. 15 the elder Walter received injuries that included a broken hip while she was receiving home care from Accentcare Home Health of California, Inc. The suit further alleges that following her fall, from about Feb. 18 to March 12, the elder Walter lived full time at Petaluma Health and Rehabilitation, 300 Douglas St.

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indianexpress.com on October 28, 2011 reported that an impostor trying to fleece patients by posing as a doctor was arrested at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32 (GMCH-32) on Thursday. The accused, Munish Verma (36), is a resident of Khudda Lohara village. According to officials at GMCH-32, around 11.30 am, security guards noticed Verma trying to fleece the relatives of a patient admitted in medical emergency wing of the hospital. He was charging money from them on the pretext of arranging early treatment for the patient.

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lvrj.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a Las Vegas physician who advocates medical marijuana therapy pleaded guilty in federal court this week to unlawfully distributing addictive painkillers. James Tinnell, 74, entered a guilty plea Wednesday to one count of distribution of controlled substances. The 11 other distribution charges against Tinnell contained in his May indictment are being dismissed, according to his plea agreement. Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt set a Feb. 3 sentencing. Tinnell, who maintained a medical practice at 2900 E. Desert Inn Road, admitted in his plea agreement that he intentionally distributed oxycodone, also known by its brand name Percocet, between July 2010 and April of this year without a legitimate medical purpose.

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bbc.co.uk on October 27, 2011 reported that a senior doctor who raised money for charity by letting young families view his garden had admitted possessing indecent images of children. Douglas Ramsay, 69, was caught after police came to his home to investigate a claim he had been covertly filming children playing and sunbathing. Officers found 112 images of naked girls on Ramsay's computer. The filming charges against the former consultant haematologist at Falkirk and Stirling hospitals were dropped. Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that Ramsay had been viewed as a pillar of society, as he had raised thousands of pounds for Strathcarron Hospice by charging visitors to visit his garden.

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jacksonville.com on October 27, 2011 reported that a 60-year-old Jacksonville doctor has been indicted on multiple counts of health care fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today. A federal grand jury indicted Charles V. Wilson Wednesday on 10 counts of defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs. Wilson is also charged with ten counts of illegally importing and distributing misbranded prescription drugs. The indictment said that between August 2008 and November 2010, Wilson illegally imported into the United States prescription drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Those unidentified drugs were then given to Wilson's Medicare and Medicaid patients, the indictment said.

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poststar.com on October 26, 2011 reported that the arrest of a doctor in southern Saratoga County on Tuesday had ties to the Glens Falls area, with the victim hailing from Warren County and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office starting the investigation. The local woman contacted the Warren County Sheriff’s Office earlier this fall to report that Dr. Zahid Nazir had inappropriately touched her during visits to his Waterford office. The Sheriff’s Office referred the allegations to Waterford Police, which after an investigation arrested Nazir on misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and forcible touching.

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swrnn.com on October 26, 2011 reported that a 61-year-old Coachella Valley chiropractor was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually assaulting female patients. Stuart Greenwood was convicted in June of two counts of sexual penetration by fraudulent representation and three counts of sexual battery under unlawful restraint — all felonies — and three misdemeanor sexual battery counts. Seven women testified during the trial, but prosecutors suspect Greenwood of molesting as many as 67 women under the guise of providing a gynecological examination after telling them a yeast infection was the source of their pain. They came to his Indio office seeking treatment for back, shoulder and neck problems. Greenwood sexually assaulted the women, ranging from their 20s to their 60s, between February 2005 and November 2008, according to the prosecution.

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theargus.co.uk on October 26, 2011 reported that a breast cancer surgeon who botched operations has been banned from practising. NHS consultant surgeon Puvaneswary Markandoo was initially suspended on full pay after 35 women, aged between 30 and 65, came forward to complaint about problems after operations. Many said they were left scarred and traumatised. Hospital trusts had to pay out compensation. However, Miss Markandoo, who was mainly based in Yorkshire but worked as a consultant in East Sussex hospitals in 2003, has now been permanently banned from practising. The decision was made by a General Medical Council disciplinary panel.

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walesonline.co.uk on October 26, 2011 reported that a locum obstetrician who squeezed a patient's bottom three times, kissed a colleague's breast over her tunic and told a woman an examination would be "the most pleasurable experience" of her life has been suspended for 12 months. Dr Priyantha Perera Kandanearachchi, who worked for Cardiff and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health boards, had denied telling the patient the procedure would be intensely pleasurable during the examination in October 2008. He also denied squeezing the patient's bottom in February 2010 and putting his mouth to a colleague's breast in July last year while working at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

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sun-sentinel.com on October 25, 2011 reported that another doctor has pleaded guilty in connection with a massive illegal prescription drug network blamed for at least 50 deaths. Dr. Michael Aruta, 48, of Boca Raton, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy to commit money laundering. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a charge of conspiracy to possess, with intent to distribute, oxycodone, and a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Aruta, an Ohio State University medical school graduate who interned at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is among 14 doctors charged in connection with the multimillion-dollar scheme prosecutors said was masterminded by 30-year-old Wellington twins Jeff and Chris George.

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wyckoff.patch.com on October 26, 2011 reported that a former doctor has been charged with stealing a $1,000 bicycle from a township garage, a week after police levied similar charges her, authorities said Wednesday. Lisa Cannon was charged with burglary and theft in connection with the stolen bike, Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox said. She was charged last week with four counts of burglary, four counts of theft, two counts of possession of stolen property and one count of practicing medicine without a license.

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