Docs Murder Conviction Upheld

Another signal the state is cracking down on incompetent physicians was sounded last week when the states Appellate Division upheld a second degree murder conviction against a Bayside surgeon for causing the death of a 33-year-old Bronx woman undergoing an abortion.
The gynecologist, Dr. David Benjamin, 63, became the first doctor in the state to be held criminally responsible for the death of a patient during the performance of a medical procedure in Corona, according to District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
"This is a solid victory for patients and their families who through the gross and depraved indifference of their medical practitioners, lose their lives or are seriously injured during a medical procedure," Brown said.
The Appellate Division concluded, "The doctor caused the fatal wound while terminating the victims pregnancy. In addition to the 3-4 inch long and 1 inch wide laceration, the victim, who had been anesthetized and sedate, bled profusely over a one-to-two-hour period, during which time the defendant failed to adequately monitor her."
The ruling came after a series of medical malpractice cases against physicians and hospitals in New York City, including Dr. Alan Zarkin, known as "Dr. Zorro" by the tabloids for carving his initials in a womans abdomen, and Beth Israel Hospital. Zarkin was charged with assault by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office and Beth Israel was fined by the New York State Department of Health.
Benjamin had been sentenced to a term of 25 years to life in prison by State Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Hanophy on Sept. 12, 1995.
Brown said, "The evidence in this case showed how the defendant performed a dangerous second trimester abortion upon his patient, Guadelupe Negron, 33, on July 9 at about 9:45 a.m., using an inappropriate first trimester procedure performing that procedure in a filthy and unsanitary storefront clinic without trained personnel."
Brown added, "He cut a gaping hole in his patients uterus and lacerated her cervix and vagina and left her to bleed to death while he performed an abortion on another patient."
Benjamin was also charged with covering up his actions by misleading the paramedics who responded in an effort to save her life."
When her condition worsened EMS was called and they found a tube had been inserted in her esophagus rather than her trachea in an attempt to open an airway for her to breathe. The paramedic team inserted a tube into the dying patients trachea.
She was moved to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.