Australian prosecutors Friday said they will pursue remaining charges against an Indian-born surgeon, including two counts of manslaughter, after he was cleared over the death of another patient. Jayant Patel was Wednesday acquitted of the manslaughter of 75-year-old Mervyn Morris, who died three weeks after the surgeon operated on his bowel in Queensland's Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2003.
Prosecutor Michael Byrne told the Supreme Court in Brisbane that the state would pursue all outstanding matters relating to Patel's time in Bundaberg between 2003 and 2004. These include two counts of manslaughter, two of causing grievous bodily harm and several fraud charges.
Patel was jailed for seven years in July 2010 after a jury found him guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the deaths of three patients, but the High Court last year quashed the convictions and ordered retrials. The 62-year-old has been on bail since the High Court decision in August.