Raynaldo Riviera Ortiz Jr, a former Dallas anesthesiologist, has been convicted of several criminal counts after tampering with patient IV bags. The tampering resulted in patient injuries and the death of another anesthesiologist who was using an IV bag to treat her dehydration.

The incidents occurred at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare North Dallas in 2022 and were noticed when several patients undergoing routine operations had episodes of cardiac arrest.

Convicting Ortiz wasn't too difficult, as he was caught on camera taking and replacing the bags from a warming bin. Ortiz faces up to 190 years for the crime.

Dallas Morning News on Youtube/ Canva

What was in the bags?

A test of the fluid from [a teenaged sinus surgery patient's] IV bag found the suspected cause — a drug cocktail of bupivacaine — a nerve-blocking agent, epinephrine — a stimulant, and lidocaine — an anesthetic.

That is an extremely dangerous cocktail of drugs, especially when the bag is only supposed to contain a saline solution.

Why would Ortiz do such a heinous and seemingly random crime?

Prosecutors argued that Ortiz was disgruntled because he was facing disciplinary action and the possible loss of his medical license due to an alleged mistake he made during a previous surgery.

Perhaps he was trying to make other doctors or the hospital look incompetent so he'd seem less so, or he was taking revenge on random strangers. No matter his reasons, it is horrific to think that any patient could face intentional harm from hospital staff.

You can see the footage of Ortiz tampering with the bags below:

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