The Dallas doctor in the center of an investigation into tainted IV bags has been charged with tampering with a consumer product causing one death and 10 cardiac emergencies during routine surgeries.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges after Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz was arrested in Plano on Wednesday.
The charges also reveal a possible motive: Ortiz was unhappy about being disciplined after bad outcomes in previous surgeries, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Ortiz, an anesthesiologist, was being investigated for an incident in which a patient stopped breathing during a routine procedure in May and a similar incident at another facility in November 2020.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The criminal complaint does not identify either surgical center involved but Baylor Scott & White previously announced it had notified law enforcement about “compromised” IV bags at Surgicare North Dallas on Coit Road.
Ortiz worked at Surgicare.
Co-workers told investigators Ortiz “expressed his unhappiness” with being disciplined and told another doctor that he felt administrators were trying to “crucify” him, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint details complications during patient surgeries including an 18-year-old patient just last month.
Ortiz failed to "maintain the patient's airway" and failed to "document critical aspects" of the incident, the complaint said.
Agents from the criminal division of the Food and Drug Administration said they obtained the IV bags used in one surgery and found “small puncture holes” in the plastic. Testing confirmed the presence of epinephrine, bupivacaine and lidocaine, they said.
Hospital staff members concluded there were 10 suspicious incidents since May linked to possibly tainted IVs where “patients experienced unexpected cardiovascular complications during otherwise unremarkable surgeries,” according to the complaint.
A fellow doctor, Melanie Kaspar, died after she fell ill and took an IV bag home to rehydrate herself.
Staff members told investigators Ortiz was notified of a disciplinary inquiry into the May 19 incident on May 24 and that the “pattern” of cardiac incidents started on May 26, the complaint said.
None of the incidents involved Ortiz’s patients, prosecutors said.
Surveillance footage from inside the surgery center implicates Ortiz, the complaint said.
Baylor had no immediate comment on the charges but previously said it was cooperating with the investigation.
Ortiz was expected to appear before a federal magistrate on Friday.
He was being held in the Dallas County Jail.
It is unclear whether he has an attorney.
Prosecutors said they would ask that Ortiz remain jailed because of the risk he might flee.
Baylor Scott & White released a statement Wednesday afternoon in part saying:
"There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of those we serve. We actively assisted local and federal authorities in their investigation and will continue to do so; we also remain focused on communicating with patients."
Get updates on what's happening in North Texas to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
