Las Vegas Prosecutors May Bring Charges Against Medical Workers Linked to Hepatitis C Outbreak
Las Vegas Police submitted a report to prosecutors recommending that criminal charges be brought against doctors allegedly responsible for the unsafe injection practices leading to the Hepatitis C outbreak over two years ago. Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer Michael Becker said, “This is a very complicated case, so charges still may not come for a while, if ever.”
In the report, exceeding 10,000 pages in total, police recommended bringing various charges, including criminal neglect of patients, a felony carrying one to six years in prison. Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer Michael Becker said, “It’s likely the case will be taken to a grand jury because there is so much evidence involved.”
After the Nevada Health District determined that several hepatitis cases were linked to the medical center in question, officials notified 40,000 former patients about the possibility of their exposure to the disease. Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer Michael Becker said that a criminal case could have a negative side-effect on monetary payouts to victims: “If the defendants are indeed found guilty, there’s a chance their malpractice insurer will void coverage since the acts are now considered criminal.”
