Doctors Behaving Badly: Michael Jackson's doctor can add "deadbeat dad" to his resume
October 21, 2009
Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of giving Michael Jackson a lethal dose of propofol, has told a judge that he can't pay more than $13,000 in back child support for his 10-year-old son because he can't get a job.
The celebrity news Web site TMZ reported Tuesday that a judge had issued a bench warrant for Murray's arrest for failing to make the child support payments. In response, Murray filed documents in court saying:
As a result of the media coverage of Michael Jackson's death, combined with the deleterious effects of the current recession, [Murray] was simply unable to meet his obligations. ... [And Murray is] temporarily unable to maintain a practice or obtain employment because of the extensive media coverage related to the death of Michael Jackson.
In the wake of Jackson's death, on Monday, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) issued new guidelines for using propofol. The expert panel that unveiled the guidelines, including Dr. John Dombrowski, made it clear, without naming Murray, that Murray was off the medical rails:
ASA unequivocally maintains that Diprivan, or its generic name propofol, is a drug meant only for use in a medical setting by professionals trained in the provision of general anesthesia. Use of the drug should be directly supervised by a physician trained in anesthesia and qualified to provide physiologic rescue should too much drug be given.
Antidote sympathizes. When you sign a contract worth $1.5 million to follow Michael Jackson on tour, and, instead, Jackson ends up dead with you holding the propofol bag, you might find yourself with a few bills that you are unable to pay.
Should journalists, who have been having a field day with Murray, take up a collection so that the poor guy doesn't end up homeless?
