DR. EARL CHARGED AGAIN

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake doctor, David T. Earl, faces new charges from the state Department of Health.

Earl was charged with unprofessional conduct by the state on Jan. 20 for his care of eight patients between 1998 and 2009.

Unprofessional conduct is defined three ways by state law, including "incompetence, negligence, or malpractice which results in injury to a patient or which creates an unreasonable risk that a patient may be harmed ... misrepresentation or fraud in any aspect of the conduct of the business or profession."

The state accuses Earl of allegedly:

* Failing to supervise a physician's assistant, leading to a patient losing a "significant amount of viable heart tissue."

* Providing substandard care, resulting in "the patient's death."

* Harming a patient by "drug addiction."

* Providing subpar care with pain medication,  which allowed the patient to suffer "harm and was placed at risk for even more significant harm, including death."

* Inaccurately noting "patient history and deficits in appropriate diagnostic testing and treatment ... Patient E's death, due to pulmonary emolus or pneumonia, could likely have been averted."

* Failing to recognize signs of cardiac ischemia, which "resulted in unreasonable risk."

* Failing to properly treat a patient, which "placed him at great risk of morbidity and death. It is likely the patient's death could have been delayed or averted."

* Failing to order a CT scan to properly diagnose the patient's advanced lung cancer, and placing him at "unreasonable risk and harm."

"The current charges are that he provided poor care to eight patients," says Washington Department of Health staff attorney, Michael Farrell. "But it's important to note that these are just allegations ... This is not criminal, it's administrative."

The official charges followed the department's Medical Quality Assurance Commission accusing Earl, on Jan. 13, of care that "allegedly fell below the standard when treating patients, placing the patients at risk of significant harm or death." 

These are new charges. They are not related to charges filed against Earl in 2007. The previous charges were dismissed.

Earl was previously charged with over-prescribing narcotics and other restricted drugs to patients. Earl was accused of contributing to the deaths of four patients and improperly medicating five others. 

The agency temporarily suspended Earl's license to practice medicine before dropping the charges and restoring his license in December 2007. 

Despite dropping the charges, the state placed restrictions on Earl preventing him from providing patients with a controlled substance or supervising physician assistants.

Earl was later disciplined for failing to meet the restrictions.

"The commission reprimanded Dr. Earl for failing to comply with a 2007 commission order that imposed record keeping requirements on him," says Farrell. "As a result of the hearing in 2008, the commission reprimanded Dr. Earl for poor record keeping and dismissed allegations that he provided poor care to patients."

Farrell says the commission receives complaints from the public and investigates. If charges are filed against a physician, the next step is for the doctor to submit a statement to the commission admitting or denying the allegations.

The commission will issue formal disciplinary action such as a reprimand or suspension of license "if the evidence is clear and convincing," according to Farrell.

Farrell says Earl received an extension on submitting his statement to the commission. The statement is due March 20.

"Hearing dates will be set for August or September," says Farrell. "It's generally six months out after the doctors submit their statement." 

Farrell says settlements through an "agreed order" could happen in which Earl and the state agree to sanctions. 

"If not, then we'll have a hearing," said Farrell. 

The Columbia Basin Herald sought comment from Earl without success.