Ex-Paramedic Pleads Guilty in Death Case

A former Los Angeles paramedic who refused to treat a dying alcoholic pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanor counts of gross negligence and a felony count of falsifying a report to make it look as though he had examined the man.

Robert Dougherty, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department who had been dubbed “Dr. Death” by co-workers, faces a maximum of three years in prison and a $10,000 restitution order on the felony charge. But Superior Court Judge J. D. Smith could also sentence him only under the misdemeanor counts, which carry a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Removed From Service

Dougherty was removed from service after the Sept. 23, 1985, incident when a crippled San Pedro man, Melvin Wagner, called paramedics and asked to be taken to the hospital.

Dougherty, knowing that paramedics had been called to the house before, refused to examine him during two visits to the residence, at one point referring to Wagner as a “scumbag,” according to testimony from his partner during a preliminary hearing.

Wagner’s social worker, Mary Lou Donohue, called Dougherty back a third time after Wagner stopped breathing. “I told them . . . I was wondering if they considered that life-threatening enough,” Donohue testified. By the time paramedics arrived, Wagner was dead, apparently of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver.

Dougherty on Friday admitted that he later falsified his response reports to indicate that he had taken Wagner’s vital signs during the first two visits.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian R. Kelberg, who prosecuted the case, and Leonard Inch, the Department of Health Services supervisor who investigated it, said they do not believe the case is an isolated one.

“He is a paradigm example of somebody who, whether from too many years doing too tough a job or from other personal deficiencies, can be a real danger to people who expect him to be someone who can save lives,” Kelberg said. “I think Mr. Dougherty may indicate a broader systematic problem in the whole system upon which we as citizens rely when we dial 911.”

Not Unique, Lawyer Says

Dougherty’s lawyer, Philip Daigneault, said he has been singled out for criminal prosecution for conduct that is by no means unique. A different paramedic team was called to Wagner’s house the day before the incident and also failed to transport him to the hospital, Daigneault noted.

“It was an unfortunate incident that’s gone on long enough now,” Daigneault said of the decision to enter a guilty plea. “It’s been a tremendous financial and emotional strain on Mr. Dougherty, and he’s finally decided to put this matter behind him, and he felt this was the best way to do that.”

Kelberg said he will ask the judge to impose at least a year in County Jail. “One (purpose) is to literally punish Mr. Dougherty for what he did, keeping in mind that a man died,” he said.

“It is also to deter Mr. Dougherty from ever contemplating similar conduct again . . . and more important, it is to deter all other paramedics and people involved in health care fields from thinking that they can decide on non-medical grounds who deserves treatment and who doesn’t.”

Smith set sentencing for Oct. 14.