Dr. Roberto Bonilla of California Found Guilty in Patient Negligence Case Surrenders License

Roberto Bonilla, MD, a surgeon from Inglewood, Calif., has agreed to surrender his medical license after he was found guilty for his role in a patient's death, according to an LA Times report.

The Medical Board of California filed a complaint against Dr. Bonilla two year ago, accusing the physician of negligence and incompetence in performing gallbladder surgery on a patient. According to the complaint, in 2008 Dr. Bonilla performed the surgery in his office without an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist and delivered a fatal dose of lidocaine. Healthcare experts testified his choice of anesthetic lidocaine was an unusual one, as gallbladder surgery is traditionally performed with general anesthesia in a hospital, according to the report.

 

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Dr. Bonilla was found guilty and sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years of probation. He also agreed to give up his medical license as a condition of his probation, according to the report. Dr. Bonilla has already appealed his conviction and will apply for reinstatement of his license.

Read the report about Dr. Roberto Bonilla.

Related Articles on Patient Safety:

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Hospitals Around the Country Doing More to Reduce Hospital Readmissions
Christus Hospital Physician Agrees to Pay $238K to Settle Negligence Lawsuit

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