The former anesthesiologist faces life in prison if convicted. NBC 5’s Ben Russell has the details.
Opening statements began Monday in the federal trial of a former Dallas doctor accused of injecting IV bags with drugs, causing the death of one doctor and causing several patients to suffer cardiac emergencies in 2022.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza held up an intravenous therapy bag (IV bag) during his opening statement Monday afternoon, telling jurors former Dr. Reynaldo Ortiz used his medical knowledge to ‘hurt’ and ‘poison’ vulnerable patients undergoing low-risk surgery.
Chief District Judge David Godbey is presiding over the high-profile trial.
Ortiz is accused of ‘spiking’ IV bags with drugs, leading to cardiac emergencies over a five-day period in August 2022 and the death of a colleague in June of the same year.
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Ortiz, prosecutors revealed, did not tamper with his own patients.
Those affected include patients undergoing procedures like repairing a broken hand, a facelift, a tummy tuck, and rhinoplasty.
Ortiz is charged with ten federal counts of tampering with a consumer product and adulteration of a drug.
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If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Cameras are not allowed in federal court, but members of the media are allowed to document proceedings.
He appeared in court wearing a facemask and looking noticeably older than in previous appearances. His hair had turned almost all white.
He only spoke once during the proceeding, pleading ‘not guilty, your honor.’
Ortiz worked at Baylor Scott & White SurgiCare in North Dallas in 2022, where he was disciplined in May after a patient stopped breathing during a procedure.
In June, fellow anesthesiologist Dr. Melanie Kaspar, 55, died after prosecutors said she took an IV bag home from the facility.
Kaspar, who intended to rehydrate after a brief illness, began screaming for her husband, who witnessed her clutching her chest and collapsing at their East Dallas home.
Her death was initially believed to have been a heart, but toxicology results later revealed she had toxic levels of bupivacaine, a drug used to treat localized pain.
Ortiz’s court-appointed public defender attorney, John Nicholson, was proud to represent Ortiz, and both were ‘eager’ for his day in court.
Nicholson told the jury clinic staff and federal authorities say only what they wanted to see, ignoring every other possibility and simply wanted to accuse ‘the most convenient person.’
Ortiz’s defense attorney calls it ‘confirmation bias.’
Both sides will dissect surveillance videos capturing Ortiz and other staff opening an IV warming bin for patients.
Prosecutors say medical staff will testify doctors typically do not access the warming bin.
Nicholson will argue they actually do, adding Ortiz performed duties outside his normal responsibilities.
Nicholson also told jurors federal prosecutors sent plastic covers on top of allegedly tainted IV bags to Dallas police for fingerprint analysis.
The analyst, he claims, found only one fingerprint which did not match Ortiz.
Prosecutors contend the facility began experiencing an abnormally high number of patients needing to be transported to hospitals between May and August.
The crimes, the federal government contends, were discovered three months later only after an 18-year-old man almost died.
Medical staff removed his IV bag, noticed puncture marks and had it tested.
Tests allegedly revealed drugs that did not belong inside.
De la Garza said the IV bags were not the first bags given to patients but rather the second or third, explaining that primary IV bags are placed in a different warming bin than the one Ortiz was seen accessing.
The government will try to prove Ortiz committed the crimes because he was experiencing professional and financial troubles, owning hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal income tax.
Ortiz had been a licensed anesthesiologist in Texas since 1991, and he had a history of disciplinary action prior to the 2022 allegations.
The jury is made up of six men and eight women, including two alternates.
During several hours of jury selection Monday morning, involving 65 potential jurors, several people expressed concern about the anticipated length of the trial of up to three weeks.
A number of jurors also recalled reading or watching pre-trial publicity but said they could issue a verdict solely based on the evidence presented in the trial and nothing else.
Ortiz will have the opportunity to testify in his own defense.
If convicted, Ortiz faces up to life in federal prison.
