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A pathologist fired from an Arkansas veterans hospital after officials said he had been impaired while on duty was charged Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of three patients who authorities say he misdiagnosed and whose records he later altered to conceal his mistakes. A grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday charged Dr. Robert Morris Levy in the patients' deaths and on multiple charges of fraud and making false statements for his alleged attempts to conceal his substance abuse and incorrect diagnoses. (DeMillo, 8/20)

During 12 years as chief pathologist here and in leadership roles on multiple oversight boards and medical committees, Levy, 53, read almost 34,000 pa­thol­ogy slides from aging veterans. He had their lives in his hands, prosecutors said in unsealing their indictment. But his addiction and attempts to cover it up with lies and dangerous practices — even after VA paid for a lengthy inpatient treatment program — led to multiple deaths and other life-threatening trauma for veterans, they said. (Rein, 8/20)

Prosecutors allege Levy cheated drug tests and falsified records to cover up his relapses. As a result, he continued reviewing sensitive patient medical information while intoxicated, potentially issuing incorrect or dangerous diagnoses for thousands of veterans. In at least three cases, investigators believe that directly resulted in patient’s deaths. On two of those occasions, the indictment says, Levy doctored medical records to make it appear that other pathologists agreed with his mistaken work. (Shane, 8/20)

Two inquiries were conducted into the misdiagnoses, both by the Office of the Inspector General of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, according to previous department announcements. One was a clinical and administrative review of what went wrong to allow Levy to continue work. The other was a criminal investigation. The system of the Ozarks worked closely with the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and local authorities on this investigation, according to a statement from the system. (Thompson, 8/20)

“This indictment should remind us all that this country has a responsibility to care for those who have served us honorably,” Duane Kees, the United States attorney for the western district of Arkansas, said in a statement. “When that trust is violated through criminal conduct, those responsible must be held accountable. Our veterans deserve nothing less.” In addition to the manslaughter charges, a federal grand jury indicted Mr. Levy on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of mail fraud and four counts of making false statements. (Victor, 8/21)