Published Tuesday, April 27, 1999 "I'm delighted for Dr. Shin," Dr. Donald Stitt, 84, of Greenville said after hearing charges against his colleague Dr. Hyunchel Shin, 74, of Pittsburgh were dismissed.
Stitt said he had few words to share after hearing he would still face simple assault charges in Venango County Common Pleas Court for his treatment of patients at the state's largest institution for the mentally retarded. Stitt is charged with stapling two patients' wounds without anesthesia.
"The rest of it I just have to live with," Stitt said. "I haven't made up my mind or made any conclusion."
Stitt is one of six doctors charged in February with abusing and neglecting patients under their care between 1995 and 1997. Prosecutors said five doctors -- Stitt, Cesar Miranda, 68, of Butler; Louka Makkar, 50, of Youngstown; Samir Moussa, 47, of Meadville; and David Byers, 53, of Waldron, Ark. -- used a surgical stapler without anesthesia to close wounds on 21 residents. Shin and Miranda were charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with two residents' deaths.
After hearing the state's case against them in a series of hearings, Franklin District Justice Robert Boyer ruled Monday involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and neglect of a care-dependent person charges be dropped against Shin but not Miranda.
Boyer ruled charges of simple assault against all five doctors be held for Common Pleas Court. In addition, he ruled reckless endangerment charges be held for court against Miranda and Byers.
Boyer said the doctors will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. May 25 in Franklin. They were to hand in their passports to the courthouse prothonotary as part of their previously set, $50,000 unsecured bail.
Boyer dropped charges against Shin in connection with the death of John Hoover, whom he treated between June 3 and Aug. 15, 1997. Boyer said the state attorney general's office had not demonstrated Shin's action or inaction contributed to Hoover's death.
The Commonwealth charged Shin, who was Hoover's primary care physician, because he did not ensure a neurological consultation was performed on his patient. An on-call physician who treated Hoover at his most serious stage did not follow through with orders for a CT scan and no charges were filed against that doctor.
"I'm having trouble rectifying it," Boyer said.
Neglect charges were dropped against the five other doctors, Boyer ruled, because the state statute that could prohibit stapling without anesthesia didn't apply to the center until August 1997, when a Constitutional amendment was adopted to include state institutions.
The Commonwealth can appeal, Boyer said.
Representatives for the attorney general's office refused to comment on what action they would take next.
Charges against the doctors stemmed from Attorney General Michael Fisher's investigation of Polk Center, which is operated by the state Department of Public Welfare. The investigation began after the deaths of three residents -- Hoover, Eugene Rozgonyi in March 1997 and Deborah Carnes on July 19, 1997.
Miranda is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Rozgonyi's death.
