Physician accused of deliberately injuring two bicyclists is convicted

RedPlanet

(USA)A physician accused of deliberately injuring two cyclists by slamming on his car's brakes on a narrow Brentwood road was convicted Monday of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and other serious criminal charges.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary Stone, who prosecuted the case, asked for Thompson to be jailed immediately, calling him a flight risk and a safety threat to cyclists.

"There's not a cyclist in Los Angeles who would feel comfortable with this defendant out on the road after this verdict," Stone told the court.

The veteran emergency room doctor, who spent more than two decades working at Beverly Hospital in Montebello, was also convicted of battery with serious injury and reckless driving causing injury. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 3.

Prosecutors alleged that Thompson stopped his car after passing the two cyclists and shouting at them to ride single file. The cyclists testified that they began maneuvering to ride one after the other when they noticed Thompson's car approaching fast behind them but that the driver passed dangerously close before abruptly stopping.

Ron Peterson, a coach for USC's and UCLA's cycling team, was flung face-first into the rear windshield of the doctor's red Infiniti, breaking his front teeth and nose and lacerating his face. Christian Stoehr, the other cyclist, hurtled to the sidewalk and suffered a separated shoulder.

A police officer testified that Thompson told him soon after the accident that the cyclists had cursed at him and flipped him off, so he slammed on his brakes "to teach them a lesson."

But prosecutors alleged Thompson had a history of run-ins with bike riders, including a similar episode four months before the 2008 incident, when two cyclists told police that the doctor tried to run them off the road and braked hard in front of them. Neither of the riders was injured.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cyclist3-2009nov03,0,761131.story

Wow, proper order.
The guy might get 10 years.
Go on the yanks.

Lumen

Does this explain why ER docs are so keen on helmets?

blorg

I was following this story, it was not the first time he did it and from statements he made to the police it was pretty clear he did it deliberately; he felt justified in doing this basically as cyclists should not be cycling their bikes on the road in his opinion. Thankfully police and the law did not share this view.

One of the riders' nose was almost lacerated off and required 90 stitches, the other rider had a separated shoulder. Honestly they could have been killed and this guy had an utter disregard for their lives as to him they were simply sub-human cyclist scum who needed to get the hell out of his way.

Hope he gets the max sentence.

seamus

Although the hippocratic oath doesn't cover actions outside of their profession, surely there's a case to strike off any doctor who's convicted of offences against the person, such as GBH, battery, murder, etc etc.?

enda1

seamus wrote: »

Although the hippocratic oath doesn't cover actions outside of their profession, surely there's a case to strike off any doctor who's convicted of offences against the person, such as GBH, battery, murder, etc etc.?

Why?

Lumen

enda1 wrote: »

Why?

Because homicidal doctors are a bad thing?

Harold Shipman :cough:

seamus

enda1 wrote: »

Why?

For the same reason that I wouldn't want a convicted rapist working in a girls' secondary school. If someone is capable of deliberately injuring another human being, then that casts serious doubts over their competence to provide effective and unbiased medical care.

I know ER doctors and the horrific crap that they see every day. That an ER doctor feels perfectly comfortable sending people to his ER is more than worrying.

enda1

Lumen wrote: »

Because homicidal doctors are a bad thing?

Harold Shipman :cough:

He didn't harm a patient nor anyone whilst acting in his capacity as a doctor.

Work and personal life should not be mixed up.

niceonetom

enda1 wrote: »

Work and personal life should not be mixed up.

Nonsense.

Lumen

enda1 wrote: »

He didn't harm a patient nor anyone whilst acting in his capacity as a doctor.

Work and personal life should not be mixed up.

This is not the view of the authorities, certainly in the UK.

For example, if you are put on the sex offenders register for attempting intercourse with a bicycle, you will not be able to work with children.

RedPlanet

Well if he doesn't loose his license to perform surgery or whatever than at least he'll loose his current job - unexcused asbsences while doing time.

seamus

enda1 wrote: »

Work and personal life should not be mixed up.

So if I'm convicted of stealing thousands of euro from a credit union, my employer can't fire me from my bank teller's job? (That's not what I do BTW )

Blowfish

RedPlanet wrote: »

Well if he doesn't loose his license to perform surgery or whatever than at least he'll loose his current job - unexcused asbsences while doing time.

Can't he just write a doctor's note?

Ryder

You are accountable for all criminal convictions outside the profession. Will almost certainly be fired and probably will be suspended or erased from his certification board

stopped_clock

seamus wrote: »

Although the hippocratic oath doesn't cover actions outside of their profession, surely there's a case to strike off any doctor who's convicted of offences against the person, such as GBH, battery, murder, etc etc.?

I don't know much about medicine, but certainly there are financial professions where you can't remain a member if personally bankrupt.

I'd have thought "do no harm" was a fairly unambiguous statement. Also, does a doctor on-scene at an accident not have a duty of care to the injured thus perversely making his victims also his patients.

kincsem

I've read the thread on bikeforums. They are not fans of the doctor. I'm surprised he was convicted, only because what should happen often doesn't happen. My guess was five years inside so it's looking good.

briano

Highlights a reason why drivers (or even other cyclists!) should be reported to the Gardai, or police in this case, even when there is "no harm done"; It will go on file and then when/if the person does something reckless in the future and ends up causing injury, they won't be able to claim that it was just an accident or that nothing like it had ever happened to them before.

penexpers

seamus wrote: »

Although the hippocratic oath doesn't cover actions outside of their profession, surely there's a case to strike off any doctor who's convicted of offences against the person, such as GBH, battery, murder, etc etc.?

One of the followup reports on Velo News indicates that he is no longer a practising doctor and will soon be struck off. I think I read somewhere that he owns a medical supplies company.

PCPhoto

briano wrote: »

Highlights a reason why drivers (or even other cyclists!) should be reported to the Gardai, or police in this case, even when there is "no harm done"; It will go on file and then when/if the person does something reckless in the future and ends up causing injury, they won't be able to claim that it was just an accident or that nothing like it had ever happened to them before.

only problem is that it would work in USA .... not here !!! ..... if you go into a garda station to report a non accident or bad driver - they take details but follow up and investigation is rarely(never) done...... its not the gardai fault - they are seriously mismanaged and undersourced.

Personally I'd have 2 gardai at every 2nd or 3rd junction - enforcing the traffic laws that we have in place - and in time most people would learn to observe the rules of the road (ALL ROAD USERS - not just motorists...cyclists, couriers, taxi drivers, truck drivers etc etc)

Nietzschean

PCPhoto wrote: »

only problem is that it would work in USA .... not here !!! ..... if you go into a garda station to report a non accident or bad driver - they take details but follow up and investigation is rarely(never) done...... its not the gardai fault - they are seriously mismanaged and undersourced.

it doesn't seem to suggest anything more happened in the USA? they just had the event on file? didn't sound like he was investigated much from the previous incident...

ROK ON

I have been following this on http://redkiteprayer.com/. The blogger, Padrraig (formerly of the excellent Belgium Knee Warmers is seemingly a friend of some of the cyclists involved.
Despite that he has some reasonably level headed comment on the situation. Worth a read.

Traumadoc

briano wrote: »

Highlights a reason why drivers (or even other cyclists!) should be reported to the Gardai, or police in this case, even when there is "no harm done"; It will go on file and then when/if the person does something reckless in the future and ends up causing injury, they won't be able to claim that it was just an accident or that nothing like it had ever happened to them before.

The police do visit, ( I know from personal experience) and it is very behavior modifying.

ZzubZzub

enda1 wrote: »

He didn't harm a patient nor anyone whilst acting in his capacity as a doctor.

Work and personal life should not be mixed up.

But the bottom line, it does.
Im a nursing student. A girl who was on my course was kicked off because on her Facebook, she had a pic of her in her underwear. Not a posey one, just one a friend took while havin a girls night in, and had tagged her in it. Kicked off for improper conduct and is never allowed to do Nursing. (Though I think that was a tad extreme.)
Would you really want to be treated by a doc in an ER who had deliberately injured people?

He deserves a long sentence and to be struck off.

Junior

Interesting bit at the end of one of the posts

There is yet another wrinkle to report in this case. On Thursday, the day the case was given to the jury, Peterson sued Thompson in federal court for negligence and battery, citing permanent injuries arising from the incident. Even if Thompson gets a hung jury, or the unthinkable—an acquittal, his woes are far from over.

Looks like the doctor will be paying for this in many ways.

Lumen

Cleeo wrote: »

I'm a nursing student. A girl who was on my course was kicked off because on her Facebook, she had a pic of her in her underwear.

Link?

and no prizes to anyone who links here