The sentencing for a former Dallas anesthesiologist found guilty earlier this year of tampering with IV bags has been postponed.
Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz was accused of injecting heart-stopping drugs into five IV bags and placing them in a warming bin for other medical staff to use on their patients at Baylor Scott & White’s SurgiCare in North Dallas over five days in August 2022.
A federal jury found him guilty in April of 10 counts of tampering with IV bags and the adulteration of drugs.
Four patients suffered cardiac emergencies during low-risk cosmetic procedures, which required them to be rushed to the hospital. Ortiz is implicated, but not charged, in the death of fellow anesthesiologist Dr. Melanie Kaspar in June 2022. Kaspar reportedly took an IV bag home to rehydrate herself and died in front of her husband. Her autopsy found a lethal dose of bupivacaine in her system.
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Ortiz was to be sentenced in federal court in Dallas on Wednesday, but that hearing was postponed.
NBC 5 spoke with a victim who drove to Dallas from East Texas to share an impact statement.
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"I think [the] judge does need to hear the effect this had on the individuals and on the medical community, which I'm also a part of," said Matthew Dawson. "[It] certainly felt important to me to give my statement. Hopefully I'll still be able to do that at some point."
Ortiz faces up to life in prison.
A new date for the sentencing hearing has not been announced.
