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US Dr. Priya Ramnath convicted over lethal injection for killing woman in 1998 in UK
Given six-month suspended jail

London, Feb. 07, 2009
Sadhu Singh

NRI Dr. Priya Ramnath, 40, an anesthesiologist has given six-month suspended jail term*, guilty of killing the patient by giving the woman a fatal injection of adrenalin against the advice of three colleagues.

In July 1998, Patricia Leighton, 51, of Staffordshire, went into hospital after a wound on a bunion on her left foot infected. She died from heart failure shortly after she was injected with the drug. After the injection, she jerked forward in her bed and exclaimed: "What's happening to me? I am going to die." She lost consciousness shortly afterwards.

In UK, Dr. Priya Ramnath was a junior resident and it is alleged that Dr. Ramnath injected 3 cc of Adrenaline to resuscitate the patient Patricia Leighton which resulted in her death. Adrenaline is used for septic infections and few other medical treatments. It is a naturally occurring hormone

The Police said, about one week after the death of Mrs Leighton , Dr. Priya Ramnath resigned from her post and flew to Orlando, Florida. to join her husband Seshadrinathan Ramnath who was already a US Citizen. She got training at University of South Florida and worked in Tampa and then moved to Texas

After five years, British government filed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Ramnath.

  • On Aug. 18, 2007, Extradition was requested
  • On. Nov. 30, 2007, she was arrested by U.S. Marshals at Woodland Heights Medical Center in Lufkin where she worked at the time as an anesthesiologist and has been denied bail twice citing flight risk.

Dr. Priya Ramnath''s defense attorney Al Charanza, Jr. called the british government's accusations an attempt to criminalize the practice of medicine. He said Ramnath acted in an attempt to save a dying woman's life.

Dr John Coakley of Homerton hospital, London, expert in intensive care medicine called by the defence said he believed Leighton had died of septic shock rather than because of the adrenaline injection.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Bladen said the inquiry as complicated and highly unusual. "This was an extreme case whereby a doctor refused to acknowledge and act on advice given by other senior medical staff that caused someone's unnecessary death."

Ben Rose, Dr Ramnath's lawyer said she treated an apparently dying patient at 3am. She did everything she could to save the patient's life. Ten years later, the CPS accuses her of manslaughter. This is the reason she spent Christmas and New Year in custody without her two children and husband

A senior US federal judge has expressed grave concerns regarding the case and granted bail after carefully reviewed the evidence

A jury found Dr. Priya Ramnath guilty by a 10 to 2 decision because:

  • It was a gross negligence and Mrs Leighton would have lived longer.
  • Ramnath's defining error was that she had chosen not to listen to a senior nurse working alongside her.

The judge said, "Arrogance has cost you your reputation."

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*"suspended jail time" means:

I am not a Professional in these matters, but do know that Suspended jail time means you are on probation for a certain amount of time. If you get "caught" doing anything wrong again, during this time, you might possibly end up in jail!

Delayed and suspended sentences are usually available for younger offenders, and for people facing their first conviction for possession of a controlled substance. A defendant eligible for a delayed or suspended sentence means that if the defendant successfully completes probation, the criminal conviction will not be placed on his record. If not (i.e. you get pulled in by the police for anything else during that period), you usually have to serve the full sentence............................................Gary Singh, LA


 


Priya Ramnath
Edinburg, TX 78539

  • Specialties Anesthesiology
  • Gender F Residency Usf, Tampa, FL
  • Fellowship Ccf, ,
    Internship University S Fla, Tampa, FL
  • State License Information
  • Licensed in Florida
  • Licensed in Kentucky
  • Licensed in Texas