Charge against doctor dropped in drunk driving death of jogger

Carlson's DWI Charge in Menzies Death Dropped

Jul 01, 2014

By WRIC Newsroom

 RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) - The DWI charge against a Mechanicsville doctor accused of hitting and killing a jogger in Hanover County in January has been nolle prosequi, or dropped.

Dr. Michael J. Carlson, 47, is charged in the death of Meg Menzies, a mother of three and avid runner. Menzies was married to Sergeant Scott Menzies of the Ashland Police Department. 
An additional charge of involuntary manslaughter was sent to the grand jury.
Around 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 13, a 2014 Toyota Sequoia was traveling west on East Patrick Henry Road when it ran off the right side of the curved roadway and struck Menzies, who had been jogging east on the westbound shoulder of the road. The crash occurred near the intersection of East Patrick Henry Road/Route 54 and Hickory Hill Road.

Menzies was transported to VCU Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Menzies was an active member of the Richmond Road Runners club.
Stay with 8News on air and online for updates on this developing story.


Compare the above outcome with the very different result in a similar case:

Drunk Driver Who Killed Young Man Gets Nearly 12 Years in Prison

Posted by Jennifer Vigil 

Times of San Diego

July 2, 2014

A motorist who drove drunk the wrong way on two freeways before getting into a head-on collision that killed the other driver has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in state prison.
Nicholas Gervais, 29, pleaded guilty in May in San Diego Superior Court to vehicular manslaughter and DUI in the death of John M. Hajosy.

He had faced up to nearly 14 years in prison.

Gervais also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and DUI with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher in the Feb. 23 death of Hajosy, also 28.

Deputy District Attorney Lucy Yturralde told a judge at Gervais’ arraignment that the defendant was spotted driving south in northbound lanes of state Route 125 about 2:10 a.m. on Feb. 23.

An El Cajon police officer tried to get Gervais’ attention by flashing his lights at the wrong-way driver and tried to videotape what was happening, Yturralde said.

Eventually, Gervais got on state Route 94, driving his BMW west in the eastbound lanes up to about 80 mph, before crashing into Hajosy’s car, the prosecutor said.

Hajosy died at the scene of head injuries and a lacerated spleen.

Hajosy’s mother said her son had been out on an “amazing date.”

Gervais was taken to a hospital and breathalyzer test showed his blood-alcohol content at .23 percent and .21 percent about three hours after the crash, according to Yturralde, who said a marijuana pipe were found in Gervais’ car.

– City News Service

Alcoholism not uncommon among surgeons

Alcoholism not uncommon among surgeons
By Kerry Grens
Feb 22, 2012

(Reuters Health) - About 15 percent of surgeons have alcohol abuse or dependency problems, a rate that is somewhat higher than the rest of the population, according to a new survey.

The researchers also found that surgeons who showed signs of alcoholism were 45 percent more likely to admit that they had a major medical error in the past three months.

"Surgery is a stressful business. There are people who turn to alcohol to help deal with their stress," said Dr. Edward Livingston, a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who was not involved in the study.

"Does that affect their performance? Who knows?" he said.

The researchers, led by Dr. Michael Oreskovich at the University of Washington, sent out a survey to more than 25,000 surgeons.

The questions asked about work, lifestyle and mood, and several were used to screen for alcohol abuse or dependency.

Overall, 15 percent of surgeons showed signs of alcohol problems. Other studies have estimated that, among the general population, the number is about nine percent.

The study did not determine why alcohol problems might be more common among surgeons.

Oreskovich's results showed that alcohol problems were linked with the doctors reporting depression and burnout as well.

Even within the various fields of medicine, surgery is considered particularly demanding.

"The nature of the beast is that the percent of emergencies, the percent of after hours work, and actual scheduled work itself all require an energy and concentration that is really different than a lot of the other specialties," Oreskovich said.

About 14 percent of male surgeons and 25 percent of female surgeons showed signs of alcohol problems.

The study could not explain why women appear to be more at risk of alcoholism in this group.

"Observations from previous studies show that the stress of being a surgeon, and balancing professional and personal obligations, is much more prevalent in female than male surgeons," Oreskovich told Reuters Health.

ERRORS, ALCOHOL LINKED?

Among the 722 physicians who said they had a major medical error in the past three months, 77 percent of them scored within the range of having alcohol problems.

These results "show there's a big problem and that we need to do something about it, especially for the patients but also for the physicians' health and well being," Oreskovich said.

"Obviously, this is a signal for further study," he added.

One of the limitations of the survey is that only about 7,200 surgeons out of the 25,000 queried responded to the survey.

In an editorial accompanying the report in the Archives of Surgery, Livingston points out that this is a very low response rate.

"If you have a low response rate, you don't know if it represents the universe of people you're trying to study," he told Reuters Health.

Oreskovich said it's possible that the percent of surgeons with alcoholism is underestimated in this study, "because I think the folks who are less likely to respond may have shame and guilt and fear associated with their alcohol abuse and dependence that they don't want to report on the survey."

He said that other studies of physicians who go into rehabilitation show very low relapse rates back into substance abuse.

Encinitas psychiatrist reportedly prescribed wrong dosage to patients; admitted drinking problem

Doctor’s License Suspended, Alcoholism Alleged
By Lauren Steussy and Paul Krueger
NBC San Diego
Oct 5, 2011

An Encinitas doctor’s license was temporarily suspended by a state judge, after several patients and an investigator presented evidence that he was practicing while intoxicated.

Patients allege that Dennis M. Pavlinac, a psychiatrist, wrote incorrect prescriptions, could not remember who his patients were and had difficulty recalling what he was doing, according to court documents.

His office assistant was often concerned about Pavlinac, and says in the complaints that the doctor admitted to having an alcohol abuse problem several times over the past year.

Pavlinac was also arrested in 2005 for driving under the influence.

The Medical Board of California filed a petition against Pavlinac at the end of September. Since many of the accusers believed Pavlinac was a danger to his patients, the board asked for an immediate suspension of his license.

Judge Robert Walker granted the suspension on September 20. Pavlinac now awaits a hearing to determine whether his license will be permanently suspended.

NBCSanDiego contacted Pavlinac for a comment, but the call was not immediately returned. A voicemail recording stated that he will be out on medical leave for three weeks.

The office assistant quoted in the petition heard many complaints from patients – for example, on August 16, Pavlinac arrived late to an appointment, but was unable to fit the key in the door because his hands were shaking, the petition said. A patient described Pavlinac as acting drunk. He reportedly ran into his desk and often asked repeated questions.

The same day, Pavlinac told a patient he was sorry he missed her appointment, to which the patient responded, “Dr. Pavlinac, I saw you yesterday. We met for 45 minutes, remember?”

Later, an investigator arrived to collect a urine sample. Pavlinac told her that he was “having a heck of a time getting sober,” the complaint read.

Julie D'Angelo Fellmeth with the USD Center for Public Interest Law said that if the allegations are true, there could be dire consequences.

"If a doctor prescribes the wrong dose for someone, that could be a matter of life and death."

Fellmeth added that although the Medical Board is likely understaffed and underfunded, delaying the suspension as long as they did was potentially dangerous. There ought to be a more direct process for cases in which doctors might be practicing under the influence, she said...