In 2015, Mitra Javanmardi was acquitted in causing the death of 84-year-old Roger Matern, but her acquittal was reversed this Thursday by a Quebec court judge and she was found guilty of manslaughter.
According to the CBC, Matern sought treatment from Javanmardi when he began experiencing breathing problems after heart surgery. As a treatment, she gave him an intravenous injection of magnesium and a variety of vitamins which was tainted with bacteria.
After complaining that he was feeling unwell, his family took him to the hospital where he died the next day.
After Matern’s death, police raided Javanmardi’s offices where they found her giving another patient fluids intravenously. Canadian law forbids alternative medicine practitioners from administering treatments by injection.
From CTV News Montreal:
Evidence presented during her first trial showed that Javanmardi knew she was not permitted to give injections and IVs, while a microbiologist testified that the substances Javanmardi was injecting were heavily contaminated with bacteria.
The Appeals court ruled that the lower court judge made an error in finding Javanmardi not guilty after recognizing that it was illegal for her to administer IVs, even if she had the training to do so.
The court of Appeal also ordered Javanmardi to undergo a new trail for criminal negligence causing death.
Before Matern’s death, Javanmardi had been fined in 1987, 1990, and 2006 by the College of Physicians for practicing medicine without a license and for giving illegal injections.
Featured image via Montreal Gazette
