Physician’s malpractice case being heard by high court

Thursday, Dec. 16, 1999 | 11:53 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- After a seven-year battle, Las Vegas surgeon Harriston Bass Jr. and the state Board of Medical Examiners were set to plead their case today before the Nevada Supreme Court.

The board has found Bass guilty of two counts of malpractice in which the patients died. Bass says other physicians interfered in the cases and records were then altered to shift the blame to him.

The case bounced in and out of District Court in Las Vegas starting in 1992 on preliminary legal battles over access to records, subpoenas and other issues.

When those were completed, a hearing officer for the examiners board held 18 days of hearings before a decision was reached. The board found two cases of malpractice and voted to revoke Bass' license, but it stayed that penalty and instead placed him on three years probation.

There were also restrictions on Bass performing surgery, and he was required to complete 120 hours of medical education.

Bass appealed to District Court, and District Judge Myron Leavitt, who is now on the Supreme Court, upheld one count of malpractice and overturned the other count. He ordered the case back to the examiners board for a new punishment.

The board appealed the Leavitt ruling to the Supreme Court. And Bass also appealed, seeking his complete vindication.

Bass performed surgery on a 62-year-old woman and on a 58-year-old man at Women's Hospital in Las Vegas. In both cases, their conditions worsened, and they were transferred to other hospitals where they died.

R. Paul Sorenson and Michael Stuhff, attorneys for Bass, said in their brief filed in the Supreme Court: "Both cases involved active interference without cause or reasons by other health care providers ... This interference resulted in the death of both patients."

They alleged that medical records were "altered to shift the cause of the disasters to Bass instead of the others."

The lawyers said there was "no basis for interference except rumors, prejudice or medical politics."

Leslie Nielsen, attorney for the examiners board, said Bass failed to properly diagnose and treat the patients. There were 32 witnesses at the hearing that presented testimony that was "overwhelmingly incriminating" against Bass, Nielsen said.

He also accused Bass of making "bald unsupported assertions" in his pre-hearing brief to the court.

The full court, with the exception of Leavitt, will hear the case and rule later.