The Medical Board of California mentioned it was investigating a plastic surgeon who attended a video site visitors courtroom listening to from an working room whereas wearing scrubs and with a affected person on the surgical desk.
The surgeon, Dr. Scott Inexperienced, reported by videoconference for a trial in Sacramento Superior Court docket on Thursday.
“Hey, Mr. Inexperienced? Hello, are you out there for trial?” a courtroom clerk mentioned as Dr. Inexperienced, carrying a surgical masks and cap, appeared in a digital sq. with working room lighting seen behind him. “It form of seems such as you’re in an working room proper now.”
“I’m, sir,” Dr. Inexperienced replied as machines beeped within the background. “Sure, I’m in an working room proper now. I’m out there for trial. Go proper forward.”
The clerk suggested Dr. Inexperienced that the listening to, which was reported by The Sacramento Bee, would be live-streamed on YouTube.
After Dr. Green was sworn in, his camera briefly swiveled and revealed a person on an operating table.
Gary Link, a Sacramento Superior Court commissioner, appeared on camera.
“Unless I’m mistaken, I’m seeing a defendant that’s in the middle of an operating room appearing to be actively engaged in providing services to a patient,” Mr. Link said. “Is that correct, Mr. Green? Or should I say Dr. Green?”
Dr. Green confirmed that it was.
Mr. Link continued, “I do not feel comfortable for the welfare of a patient if you’re in the process of operating that I would put on a trial notwithstanding the fact the officer is here today.”
Dr. Green explained that there was another surgeon in the room who could perform the surgery.
But Mr. Link disagreed.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he said, adding that he would reschedule the trial for a time when Dr. Green was not operating on a patient.
“We want to keep people healthy, we want to keep them alive. That’s important,” Mr. Link said. He set March 4 as a new trial date.
The reason for Dr. Green’s court appearance was unclear.
Dr. Green, who has offices in Sacramento and Granite Bay, Calif., did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Mr. Link also could not be reached.
Carlos Villatoro, a spokesman for the Medical Board of California, said the board was aware of the hearing and “will be looking into it, as it does with all complaints it receives.”
The board, he said, “expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients.”
Mr. Villatoro declined to offer further details, citing the legal confidentiality of complaints and investigations.
As court proceedings have moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, missteps have abounded.
