Conrad Murray Trial: Malpractice by Dr. Murray

The third week of Dr. Conrad Murray’s trial takes another huge blow, Wednesday, when his attorneys dropped a claim that the singer swallowed a fatal dose of an anesthetic, and two doctors slammed his treatment standards.

Murray’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, suggested in court that the reported 2- minute time span Murray described to the police was inaccurate. Murray told cops that he left to use the restroom, and when he came back Michael wasn’t breathing.

The problem with Murray’s statement is that it is questionable that during the 2-minute window, Michael Jackson woke up, grabbed the propofol and shot it into the port in his leg.”We are not going to assert at any point in time in this trial that Michael Jackson orally ingested propofol,” Flanagan told the judge.

Murray’s lawyers have however pressed their argument that Jackson gave himself the propofol with an injection. Two doctors testified that even if Jackson gave himself propofol, Murray would still be responsible for his death.

Steinberg, who reviewed Murray’s treatment of Jackson for the California medical board, said Murray made six “extreme deviations” from the generally accepted standard of care, which were administering propofol for sleep when it is meant for anesthesia; giving it at a home instead of a medical facility; not being prepared for an emergency; not taking the proper measures to revive Jackson; delaying calling for an ambulance; and not keeping proper records.

Dr. Nader Kamangar, a hospital specialist in pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine, reached a similar conclusion as Steinberg. “Fundamental basics of the Hippocratic oath, or the ethics and morals that physicians swear by, is to do what’s right for your patient, not to abandon your patient,” Kamangar said.

Thursday jurors in the trial began hearing from a top expert, Dr. Steven Shafer, a professor of anesthesiology at Columbia University, on propofol, the surgical anesthetic that led to the singer’s death. Shafer told jurors that when the drug was first introduced in the early 1990s for sedation, he conducted the research that established the dosing guidelines that are still currently in use. Shafer said in his analysis, he discovered that propofol had to be used carefully because if the doctor is “off by just a little,” a dose could result in a patient taking hours rather than minutes to wake up from sedation.

Shafer was only on the stand long enough to detail his lengthy qualifications before court adjourned for the day for scheduling reasons. CNN.com reports the trial could go to the jury as early as next week. Murray faces up to four years in prison and loss of his medical license if convicted.

What other new revelations does this trial have in store for us and will justice be served for the king of pop? I guess we will have to leave that up for the jury to decide.