Two New Orleans police officers are facing charges in the 2005 beating death of Raymond Robair. Last month, a nationally known forensic pathologist testified on the officers’ behalf that a hospital misdiagnosis and delay in treatment could have caused Robair’s death. The pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, said that the blunt force trauma to Robair’s body did not come from a police officer’s baton.
According to Baden, the victim’s injuries do not definitively say that they are the result of a beating. He opined that Robair’s death was from a loss of blood from a lacerated spleen. The doctors should have noticed immediately that he was bleeding internally, according to Baden. Instead, they focused on treating what they thought was a heart attack in the victim and failed to notice that his abdomen was growing larger, said Baden.
Baden’s testimony contradicts an earlier pathologist’s testimony that Robair’s injuries show that he was fatally beaten. One officer faces a federal civil rights charge for allegedly stomping on and striking Robair in 2005. The second officer faces charges of obstruction and lying to the FBI in the incident.
Diagnostic errors and misdiagnoses can have fatal consequences. Contact a New Orleans medical malpractice lawyer if you or a loved one suffers further injury from medical negligence. A New Orleans medical malpractice attorney can offer a free case review of your claim.