Miami surgeon Dr. Alex Zakharia was indicted by a federal grand jury last year on perjury, mail fraud and wire fraud charges in connection with his testimony in a Michigan medical malpractice case (KevinMD, Dec. 2). Now Zakharia has pleaded guilty to contempt of court and admitted false statements as part of a plea deal to resolve the charges. Reports the Ann Arbor News (Sept. 18):
Authorities said he testified as an expert witness in 2002 on behalf of a plaintiff charging a doctor at the VA with medical malpractice in connection with a coronary artery bypass graft.
He admitted that during the deposition, he falsely bolstered his credibility as an expert by creating the impression that he was the lead surgeon for numerous coronary artery bypass grafts – when he never conducted such surgeries, officials said.
More: Miami Herald; Expert Witness Blog; U.S. Attorney press release (PDF).
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