Friday, January 25, 2013

First Do No Harm: Healthcare Pros Who Didn’t Heed the Creed

First Do No Harm: Healthcare Pros Who Didn’t Heed the Creed:
It takes years of hard work and sacrifice to become a doctor. But even though the job is to heal suffering, it doesn’t make you a saint. The following is a group of healthcare professionals whose infirmities might be better cured with time behind bars than conventional medicine.
This dentist doesn’t help with smiles | Nobody likes going to the dentist’s office because it’s an uncomfortable time. But at Kam Derakshani’s practice, the employees were in more distress than the patients.
King County prosecutors say the 48-year-old Derakshani has been groping and sexually assaulting his workers for several years. One woman hired in 2011 reported that Derakshani would put her hand on his crotch, and reach into her clothes while pinning her so she couldn’t escape.
The bad touching allegedly continued even after one employee threatened to break Derakshani’s hand if he kept being so fresh – so three female co-workers went to the police. Derakshani has since had his license suspended and been charged with third-degree rape, unlawful imprisonment and indecent liberties.
Podiatrist’s dirty secret | When Dr. Pete Thomas of Coastline Podiatry in Santa Ana, California tired of looking at bunions and athlete’s foot cases, he would allegedly turn to his computer and look at something even more disgusting: photos of pre-teen girls undressed and engaging in sex acts with grown-ups.
In December 2012, Thomas, 58, was charged with felony possession and control of child pornography for the 1,100 images found on his work computer. Thomas’ illicit hobby was discovered in October when an IT professional saw the files when installing new software and told his boss.
Now Thomas faces three years in prison, where he would undoubtedly long for the days of fungus-ridden toenails and oozing blisters.
TLC: Tender loving corpse | On January 20, Alejandro Lazo, 61, was arrested for violating a California Health and Safety Code at Sherman Oaks Hospital in California. Not the stuff of headlines really, except the violation in question involved having sex with a corpse.
Necrophilia is against the law in California, and so when someone allegedly saw Lazo sexually penetrating a dead body the police were called in to investigate. LAPD arrested the nurse, who lives in nearby Reseda, and soon let him go on $20,000 bail. If the case goes to trial, prosecutors will be in the uncomfortable position of proving Lazo interacted with human remains for “sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse.”
Sherman Oaks Hospital is understandably washing its hands of the matter. “We’re deferring all comment to the LAPD,” said a hospital spokesperson. They wouldn’t disclose whether the corpse in question was male of female.
Doctor Dynamite | Dr. Randeep Mann of Russellville, Arkansas had his prescription-writing privileges curtailed by the State Medical Board for allegations of over-prescribing leading to patient deaths. But that’s not the worst part. That came on February 4, 2009, when an explosion at the West Memphis home of the State Medical Board chairman Dr. Trent Pierce gravely wounded the man who sanctioned Dr. Mann.
Dr. Pierce lost an eye, the use of one ear, and his sense of smell. Police ultimately tracked the grenade used in the attack back to Dr. Mann. Police searched Dr. Mann’s home and found an arsenal of grenades, grenade launchers and $1 million worth of firearms and ammunition that linked him to the crime against Pierce – as well as new weapons charges.
Dr. Mann was ultimately sentenced to life for the attempt on Dr. Pierce’s life. And in a shocking case of “stand by your man“, Mann’s wife Sangeeta would later be convicted of obstruction for hiding documents on her husband’s behalf. She’s expected to spend a year in prison as well.
More dirty doctors — Slideshow: Bad Medicine

Illustration and creation by ms. Lisa C. Jackson

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