Trial against former doctor accused of tampering with IV bags enters second week

The high-profile trial for a North Texas doctor accused of tampering with IV bags kicked off week two on Tuesday in Dallas Federal Court.

Former anesthesiologist Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz faces ten counts for tampering with and adulterating IV bags at one of the clinics he worked at.

He is accused of tainting IV bags causing several medical emergencies and one death while he was working at Baylor Scott and White Surgical Care in North Dallas. Another doctor who worked with Ortiz and 11 patients suffered cardiac events after receiving fluids from those bags.

Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial did not take place on Monday because one of the witnesses, a doctor, was performing surgery.

The trial started back up again on Tuesday with the final prosecution witnesses to take the stand before the state wraps up its case and the defense begins.

Tuesday's first witness was Dr. Elizabeth Kerner. She performed plastic surgery on two different patients who received fluid from the IV bags Ortiz is accused of tampering with.

One of Dr. Kerner's patients took the witness stand alongside former colleagues of Ortiz last week.

Prosecutors had Dr. Kerner describe every detail of what she did during those surgeries, possibly in an effort to rule out the doctors and other medical personnel who were involved in the procedures that used the IV bags.

For both patients, Dr. Kerner testified that she did a thorough health history check and even had performed previous surgeries on one of the patients with no issues in the past.

But in August 2022, both patients -- whose surgeries were performed on different days -- were transported to area hospitals for blood pressure problems experienced post-surgery.

In cross examination, the defense seemed to question Dr. Kerner’s own procedures during these surgeries but she testified that she did not believe it was her error as to why patients had issues.

The next witness was a medical toxicologist who treats poisoned patients in North Texas before the court headed into its first break of the day.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case Tuesday before the defense spends the next few days calling up witnesses. It is still unknown if Ortiz will testify in his own defense.

The trial could last two weeks, potentially up to three in total.

Last week, jurors heard testimony from the widow of Dr. Melanie Kaspar, an anesthesiologist who died in 2022 after taking home an IV from the North Dallas facility where both she and Ortiz worked.

If convicted on ten federal counts of tampering and adulterating consumer products, Ortiz could face life in prison.