Surgeon Convicted Of Involuntary Manslaughter In Patient's Anesthetic Overdose
TORRANCE (AP) — An Inglewood surgeon has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case of a patient who died during gallbladder surgery at a home that served as a medical clinic.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Torrance jury returned the verdict against Dr. Roberto Bonilla Friday after more than four days of deliberations.
Prosecutors say Osvaldo Hernandez paid Bonilla several thousand dollars in cash to relieve a sharp pain in his stomach.
Hernandez stopped breathing after Bonillo administered the anesthetic Lidocaine for the 2008 surgery. Prosecutors alleged that Bonilla tried for about three hours to revive Hernandez and did not call 911 or have him taken to a hospital about 1 1/2 blocks away.
An autopsy determined Hernandez died of Lidocaine overdose. Bonilla is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25.
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