Panel Clears Hospital, Doctor in Police Slaying of Patient
A three-member federal appeals panel cleared a hospital and a doctor Monday of responsibility in the 1991 police shooting death of a machete-wielding drug user.
The judges upheld a trial court ruling that absolved San Pedro Peninsula Hospital and Dr. Larry Orosz of negligence or wrongdoing in the death of Allan Eberhardt.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Aug. 23, 1995 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday August 23, 1995 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
A wire service story that said a federal appeals court panel had cleared a doctor in a lawsuit incorrectly added that the physician had been treated with a drug used to stabilize patients under the influence of a narcotic. The story, which ran Tuesday on page B5, should have said that the physician’s patient, Allan Eberhardt, had received the drug.
Orosz treated Eberhardt on July 18 of that year at the San Pedro hospital for heroin and cocaine use. Orosz received Narcan, a drug that stabilizes patients under the influence of illegal narcotics.
Shortly after his treatment, the 23-year-old Eberhardt walked out of the emergency room without being released officially, according to a court document.
Thirty hours later, he was seen with a machete. He refused to drop the weapon and was shot several times by officers.
The dead man’s father, Roland Eberhardt, later filed a wrongful death suit against Orosz, the hospital, the city of Los Angeles and the Police Department. The case was dismissed, but Eberhardt appealed.
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