Anesthesiologist gets 190 years for injecting drugs into IV bags
An anesthesiologist in Dallas has been sentenced to 190 years in prison after being convicted at trial for tampering with the IV bags of patients, with a judge at sentencing saying his actions were “tantamount to attempted murder.”
Disgraced doctor Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr., 60, was convicted 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, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). After an eight day trial, the jury took seven hours to decide Ortiz’s fate.
The details of Ortiz’s actions came to light in July 2022 after a fellow anesthesiologist at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas took an IV bag home to rehydrate, only to end up in cardiac arrest and die. An autopsy concluded that her death was a result of a nerve blocking agent called bupivacaine that should never have been in the IV bag, the DOJ said.
Prior to that incident, there had been a string of patients at Baylor Scott & White who developed cardiac complications during surgeries. However, none of the incidents happened during surgeries Ortiz was a part of, so he was able to evade suspicion.
According to the DOJ, doctors at the facility finally tested the IV fluids after an 18-year-old patient had a medical emergency during a routine sinus surgery.
A local lab analyzed fluid from the bag used during the teenager’s surgery and found bupivacaine, epinephrine and lidocaine—a drug cocktail that would explain the patient’s very high blood pressure and edema. The lab also observed a puncture in the plastic shell of the IV bag where drugs were likely injected, confirming suspicions of contamination, the DOJ added.
Surveillance video played at the trial showed Ortiz grabbing IV bags from a bin and returning to replace them a short time later. Those bags were then used on patients who experienced the emergency health complications, prosecutors revealed.
The incidents happened between May and August 2022. Ortiz was suspended in August for an alleged medical error during one of his own surgeries, the DOJ said. He was arrested in Oct. 2022, after an investigation by the Dallas Police Department and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Ortiz was officially sentenced to the 190-year prison term on Nov. 20.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.