A doctor of Indian origin, Dr. Jayant Patel was found guilty of manslaughter and causing serious damage to his patients and sentenced to seven years in prison. The sentence was delivered by Justice John Byrne in Brisbane Supreme Court.

Dr. Patel was sentenced for seven years in each manslaughter case and also sentenced to three years for causing serious body damage. All these sentences will run simultaneously. The court gave the verdict after hearing seven days of discussions.       

The doctor had served as Chief of Surgery at Bundaberg Base Hospital from 2003 to 2005. He had pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of James Phillips, 46, Gerry Kemps, 77, and Mervyn Morris, 75. All of these had died after surgery performed by Dr. Patel.

Dr. Patel had also pleaded not guilty to causing serious body harm to Ian Vowles. He had removed a healthy bowel from the patient in October 2004.  

In the trial, 76 people testified for 53 days against Dr. Patel. It was alleged that the decision of Dr. Patel to operate on Phillips, Kemps and Morris caused their deaths.

The court was told that these surgeries were dangerous and unnecessary. Medical experts had testified that Dr. Patel was seriously wrong in performing these surgeries.

On the other hand, Michael Byrne the lawyer for Dr. Patel argued that the doctor carried out these operations with the consent of his patients.