07/20/2008

By DENNIS PASSA  / Associated Press

Dr. Jayant Patel, an Indian-born, American-trained surgeon charged with three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of patients at a Queensland state hospital, arrived back in Australia on Monday more than 18 months after being charged with the offenses.

The 58-year-old Patel was escorted without handcuffs by two Queensland police officers on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles. He had been in custody in Portland, Oregon, since March 11 and late last month agreed with an extradition request by the Australian government.

Patel had returned from Australia to his family home in Portland on April 1, 2005.

He was expected to appear at a Brisbane court hearing later Monday. He faces life in prison if convicted.

His lawyers have said Patel may apply for bail while waiting for his trial to begin.

His return came just over three years after he left Australia under far different circumstances, his business class airfare paid for by the Queensland health department as part of a contract that provided for travel to his family home in Portland.

Patel was hired at Bundaberg, a sugar industry town of 47,000 about 190 miles north of Brisbane, without disclosing that he had been disciplined for negligence by medical boards in Oregon and New York, according to Australian authorities.

The department gave him a one-way ticket in April 2005, despite allegations being raised in Queensland's state legislature that he had been responsible for the death of at least one patient.

Patel was employed at Bundaberg Base Hospital from early 2003 to early 2005. In late 2003, he was promoted to director of surgery.

On Nov. 22, 2006, warrants were issued for Patel's arrest on three charges of manslaughter and five charges of causing grievous bodily harm to patients. The charges were brought after a government inquiry found he may have contributed directly to 13 deaths due to an "unacceptable level of care" at Bundaberg hospital.