A Dallas anesthesiologist was found guilty on Friday for injecting a nerve-blocking agent and other drugs into bags of intravenous fluid at a surgical center where he worked. This action resulted in the death of a coworker and caused cardiac emergencies for multiple patients, according to federal prosecutors.
Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr., 60, was convicted by a jury on four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product, and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug. Ortiz, who could face up to 190 years in prison, has not yet been scheduled for sentencing.
“Dr. Ortiz presented himself as a healer in a white coat, but instead of relieving pain, he caused it,” stated U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, in a video message.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed that many patients at Surgicare North Dallas experienced cardiac emergencies between May 2022 and August 2022 while undergoing routine medical procedures performed by various doctors. Additionally, an anesthesiologist who had worked at the facility earlier that day passed away while attempting to treat herself for dehydration with an IV bag.
Prosecutors stated that Ortiz, who was apprehended in September 2022, secretively placed the contaminated IV bags in a warming bin at the facility and then waited for his colleagues to use them during surgeries.
During the emergencies, evidence from the trial showed that Ortiz was under investigation for an alleged medical error in one of his own surgeries, according to prosecutors.
