Charges of medical malpractice were dropped this week against Dr. Jayent Patel in matters which have been dragging on for 8 years.


This is another prime example of how pathetic our legal system has become, an article follows:


Jayant Patel outside court with one of his lawyers earlier this year. Source: News Limited PROSECUTORS have dropped all criminal medical negligence charges against former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel. They will not proceed with the two manslaughter charges and two grievous bodily harm charges, plus four fraud charges.Patel this morning pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud in the Brisbane District Court. He will be sentenced on Thursday.Prosecutor Peter Davis QC said it was not in the interests of justice to proceed with the criminal medical negligence charges against Patel.This year, a jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge of grievous bodily harm against Patel over his treatment of patient Ian Vowles.Earlier in 2013, a jury acquitted Patel of the unlawful killing of patient Mervyn Morris.Last year, the High Court had quashed the three manslaughter convictions and one grievous bodily harm conviction against Patel, ruling there had been a miscarriage of justice. The trials this year were retrials. In a statement later this morning, Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions Tony Moynihan QC explained why he decided against pursuing the outstanding criminal medical negligence charges.Mr Moynihan said it was not in the public interest to continue.“In making this decision, I must balance the obvious public interest in the due prosecution and conviction of offenders with the views of victims or their families, the significant period of time that has passed since the offences are alleged to have been committed, the two and a half years Jayant Patel has spent in custody, the inevitable substantial cost of very complex litigation, the fact that in the retrials the defence has presented credible evidence from medical experts and that the Crown has not been able to satisfy the requirement of proving the alleged negligence to the criminal standard,” Mr Moynihan said.“In all the circumstances, including those above, I have decided that it is not in the public interest to continue the counts alleging criminal negligence against Jayant Patel.”Outside court, Patel declined to comment. His barrister, Ken Fleming QC, was asked outside court whether justice had been done for the people of Bundaberg.Mr Fleming responded: “Justice is done here on the basis of evidence, not on the basis of passion running high in the community”. - See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/jayant-patel-manslaughter-charges-dropped/story-e6frg6n6-1226760868392#sthash.wq6MgsRE.dpuf


Justice what Justice? All I see is a man who carried out surgical obscenities on his patients, walking free as a bird, then again, this is Australia where you do 5 years for Murdering someone.

No, I don't accept that at all Herbert.
The legal system definitely has its faults, chief of which are the delays and the cost, but what we've got is fairer than most other places.
I'd imagine it's pretty difficult to prove medical negligence beyond reasonable doubt. Don't forget that it has been juries which have been unable to agree. It might seem an open & shut case to us but we haven't heard all the evidence have we.

bogarde73 wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2013 at 8:34am:


We've heard the testimony of the nurse who had the social conscience to blow the whistle on this serial idiot.

Life_goes_on wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2013 at 10:41am:


For what it is worth ~ you are bang on the money.

Go after the hospital administrators, oh and the whistle blowing nurse that new more that what she reported.

UnSubRocky wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2013 at 10:22pm:


What sort of dopey comment is that?  Don't you reckon the DPP sieved every possible source of admissible evidence against him?

UnSubRocky wrote on Nov 25^th, 2013 at 12:49am:


They simply did not have the evidence to get a conviction, (apart from what he pleaded guilty to) notwithstanding determined and repeated efforts.