Doctor, Pharmacist Face Manslaughter Charges; Guilty Plea in Breast Surgery Death

A doctor and a pharmacist in Oklahoma City are facing manslaughter charges for allegedly giving an elderly patient a dose of methotrexate that was higher than necessary. The patient was supposed to take 20 mg of the drug every 7 days, but prosecutors allege that Alexander Frank, MD, incorrectly prescribed a dose of 20 mg daily for 7 days, and Justin Lee, PharmD, ignored computer warnings. The patient was found unresponsive on the fifth day. (KOCO 5 News)

A 27-year-old nurse in Germany was sentenced to life in prison for murdering two patients by administering unprescribed drugs so that he could be "left in peace." (The Guardian)

The wife of California radiologist Dharmesh Patel, MD, told rescuers her husband purposely drove his Tesla off a cliff in an attempt to kill her and their two young children, and told them the physician was depressed and needed a psychological evaluation, according to a newly unsealed affidavit. (AP via ABC News)

Detroit nurse Patrice Wilson was kidnapped after her shift on Saturday and found dead in the trunk of her own car. Her ex-boyfriend Jamere Miller was arrested in connection to the murder. (ABC News)

Denver cardiologist Stephen Matthews, MD, has now been charged in additional cases, as a total of 10 women have alleged that they blacked out after drinking with him on dates over the last 4 years. Several of those women claim he sexually assaulted them after they had passed out. Matthews had previously been charged with a single case of sex assault earlier this year. (CBS Colorado)

Nurse Heather Lang Vass pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the case of a botched breast augmentation surgery that led to the death of a 36-year-old patient; surgeon Carlos Chacon, MD, faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death. (NBC 7 San Diego)

John Farmer, MD, was awarded $3.7 million in damages in his lawsuit against Baptist Health Medical Group in Kentucky. Farmer was a third-year resident when he was accused by a patient's mother of being impaired after "touching his nose a lot and constantly moving from side to side" during an appointment. (The Indiana Lawyer)

Pediatric nephrologist Mehul Dixit, MD, has been accused of sexually assaulting two teenagers during medical exams at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. (NBC News)

Federal prosecutors allege that Iowa plastic surgeon Adam B. Smith, MD, also known as "Adam Bryant," billed government insurers for services he claimed were medically necessary, but which were actually unnecessary cosmetic surgeries not covered by federal payors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

Five people have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy related to their roles in "Operation Nightingale," a scheme that enabled aspiring nurses to purchase credentials in an attempt to get licenses and jobs. (AP)

The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block Amgen's nearly $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. (CNBC)

St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Illinois will pay $12.5 million to settle a whistleblower complaint that it submitted claims for urgent care services billed at a higher level of service, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois.

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