PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Anatomy of a pathologist gone terribly wrong with deadly consequences on a massive scale. How can there not be an independent public inquiry into how he could have evaded detection for so many years?
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "An independent review of his cases began in 2018 after he was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge in Fayetteville. The review found 30 cases in which he missed the diagnosis seriously enough to cause the patients involved lasting harm, including three deaths. The review found 3,029 errors out of 33,902 of Levy's cases, but most patients didn't suffer long-term ill effects, according to the review. The 3,029 errors make for an error rate of 8.9%. The pathology practice average is 0.7%, according to federal Veterans Department figures. Levy faces up to 28 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. He will be sentenced at a later date.
STORY: "Pathologist convicted of manslaughter sued by veteran's estate," by Reporter Doug Thompson, published by The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette on August 6, 2020.
GIST: "The estate of a veteran who died after a botched diagnosis has filed a lawsuit against a Fayetteville pathologist convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
The suit also names as a defendant the federal government, which employed him at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks. Robert Morris Levy, 53, worked on thousands of cases while impaired, federal investigators found. He pleaded guilty June 11 to one count of involuntary manslaughter and to one charge of mail fraud in his attempts to conceal his drug use. The estate of John D. Quick of Greenwood sued Tuesday seeking $3 million. The estate filed suit in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
Levy's role at the health care system was to examine test results of tissue and fluid samples to determine illnesses, if any. Quick went to the veterans hospital Sept. 22, 2014, the suit says. He died Sept. 13, 2015, after Levy both missed Quick's diagnosis -- he named the wrong disease -- and falsely put in Quick's medical records that another pathologist agreed with his finding, according to the suit.
Levy started work at the Fayetteville hospital in 2005. He was found drunk on the job in 2016, court records show. He was required to complete a drug rehabilitation program before returning to work and then to submit blood and urine samples for tests. He passed 42 such tests in two years. Investigators found he did so by using a drug that intoxicates like alcohol, but isn't traceable by breath, blood or urine tests for alcohol.
An independent review of his cases began in 2018 after he was arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge in Fayetteville. The review found 30 cases in which he missed the diagnosis seriously enough to cause the patients involved lasting harm, including three deaths.
The review found 3,029 errors out of 33,902 of Levy's cases, but most patients didn't suffer long-term ill effects, according to the review. The 3,029 errors make for an error rate of 8.9%. The pathology practice average is 0.7%, according to federal Veterans Department figures.
Levy faces up to 28 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. He will be sentenced at a later date.
A blood test at the time Levy was first found intoxicated on the job showed Levy's blood alcohol level at more than 0.39.
"For a normal human being, a 0.396 would be comatose level," special agent Kris Raper of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs testified at a bail hearing for Levy in September."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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