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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 21 august 2019

2015 North Dakota Former VA pathologist charged

liquid gas spill much in deaths of 3 patients

bigger than reported By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A
By JAMES MacPHERSON ed a draft document on a pathologist fired from an
Associated Press cleanup plan. Oneok said Arkansas veterans hospital
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A in a statement Tuesday after officials said he had
2015 pipeline spill of liq- that the document was been impaired while on
uid natural gas in western done by a consultant “as duty was charged Tues-
North Dakota initially re- part of their design process day with involuntary man-
ported as just 10 gallons is to address the release.” slaughter in the deaths of
at least hundreds of thou- The company said the ac- three patients who authori-
sands of gallons larger and tual amounts of the release ties say he misdiagnosed
may take another decade aren’t known. and whose records he later
to clean up, state health “The volume estimates in- altered to conceal his mis-
officials said Tuesday. cluded in the document takes.
Oklahoma-based Oneok were hypothetical assump- A grand jury indictment un- In this Aug. 17, 2019 file photo provided by the Washington
Partners LP reported the tions and were used solely sealed Tuesday charged County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Department, Robert Levy is pictured
10-gallon spill of natural gas as a basis for the vendor’s Dr. Robert Morris Levy in the in a booking photo.
liquids, or “condensate,” equipment design to com- patients’ deaths and on Associated Press
from a pipeline at its Gar- plete the response action multiple charges of fraud once showed up to work at misdiagnosed the patient
den Creek gas plant near efforts,” the company said. and making false state- the Veterans Health Care with another form of carci-
Watford City in July 2015. A Oneok said the release was ments for his alleged at- System of the Ozarks drunk noma. In a third case, the
report by the North Dakota caused by “hairline cracks” tempts to conceal his sub- in 2016, but he denied that indictment says, a patient
Health Department said in a 2-inch-wide under- stance abuse and incor- he had worked while im- with small cell carcinoma
“ground around the pipe ground pipe at the facil- rect diagnoses. paired. He entered an in- was treated for a type of
was saturated with natural ity. Regulators don’t know “In doing so, he was al- patient treatment program cancer he didn’t have fol-
gas condensate of an un- how long the line had been lowed to stay employed following that incident and lowing an incorrect diag-
known volume.” leaking, but they said it was with the Veterans Adminis- returned to work in October nosis by Levy, and died.
State Environmental Qual- repaired immediately after tration, thus earning a sal- 2016 after agreeing to re- In two cases, he’s accused
ity Chief Dave Glatt said being discovered. ary, benefits and possibly main sober and submitting of falsifying patients’ medi-
the company reported last “Repairs and modifications a bonus,” Duane Kees, the to random drug testing. cal records to state that a
October that it had recov- have been made to help U.S. Attorney for the West- Levy, who was being held second pathologist agreed
ered 240,000 gallons of the ensure that another re- ern District of Arkansas, said at the Washington County with his diagnosis.
liquid gas and that clean- lease does not occur,” the at a news conference in jail, pleaded not guilty at a Prosecutors say Levy re-
up was ongoing. statement said. “Due to the Fayetteville, referring to the hearing Tuesday. Kees said ceived bonuses in 2016
But the Health Department below ground nature of Department of Veterans that as of Tuesday morn- and 2017 that were based
never updated its report to the release, it is impossible Affairs by its former name. ing, Levy had not obtained in part on him reporting
reflect the severity of the to determine the actual Levy, who worked at the counsel to represent him in that his clinical errors were
spill. volume released with any Veterans health Care Sys- the case. less than five percent. But,
Glatt said doing so was not level of certainty or accu- tem of the Ozarks in Fay- In the deaths, Levy is ac- according the indictment,
required and would have racy.” etteville, was paid an an- cused of falsifying entries almost 10 percent of the
been “just wild guesses State environmental scien- nual salary of $225,000, ac- in his patients’ records af- diagnoses he made had
anyway.” tist Bill Suess visited the site cording to the indictment. ter making incorrect and clinical errors.
The larger-than-reported the Tuesday, the day after He was fired from the hos- misleading diagnoses. In “These charges send a
size of the spill was first re- the blog post appeared. pital in April 2018. one case, a patient died clear signal that anyone
ported Monday by DeS- He estimated the affected VA officials said in January of prostate cancer after entrusted with the care
mog, a blog dedicated to area to be about 240,000 that outside pathologists Levy determined that his of veterans will be held
fighting climate change square feet. reviewed nearly 34,000 biopsy showed he didn’t accountable for placing
skepticism, which report- Suess said some ground- cases handled by Levy and have cancer, prosecutors them at risk by working
ed that the spill could be water was affected at found more than 3,000 er- allege. while impaired or through
as large as 11 million gal- the site but the spill didn’t rors or missed diagnoses Prosecutors say a second other misconduct,” VA In-
lons. The blog cited an un- reach beyond the facility’s dating back to 2005. Levy patient died of squamous spector General Michael
named person who provid- boundaries.q has acknowledged that he cell carcinoma after Levy Missal said. q