Outcome in Outrageous Court Case. - Texas Journal of Chiropractic

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Outcome in Outrageous Court Case.

Published 02/12/2010 - 7:13 a.m. CDT

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The Los Angeles Times reports here that in the court case where "a Texas nurse who was brought up on criminal charges for filing an anonymous complaint accusing a doctor of unethical conduct was acquitted by a jury Thursday." More details on this case are reported HERE.

"She was indicted in June on a count of 'misuse of official information' after [the doctor] filed a harassment complaint with the Winkler County Sheriff's Department. After the jury returned its verdict, the nurse said she would continue to report doctors if she believes they aren't giving patients proper care."

"Nursing associations and health care watchdogs in Texas and across the country have rallied around Mitchell, saying the case is a key test of physician accountability and warned of a potential chilling effect on medical professionals and consumers. The state medical board's executive director, Mari E. Robinson, has said her agency is a governmental one and a complaint filed by a nurse against a doctor she didn't like does not necessary mean it was filed in bad faith....one physicians group, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, also said anonymously disparaging a doctor and possibly depriving him of a livelihood 'on the basis of false, bad-faith allegations' needs to stop."

"The (nurses) attorneys have also filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against Arafiles, Winkler County and its hospital, sheriff, prosecutor. The suit alleges the nurses' First Amendment rights were denied and that the criminal prosecution is vindictive."

"In September, investigators from the Department of State Health Services went to the hospital and found several medical procedure violations by (the doctor), according to their report."

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