California Doctor Faces Criminal Charges for Allegedly Hastening Death To Harvest Organs

In Los Angeles, there is a case that raises both criminal and tort allegations of a doctor accused of hastening the death of a young man to harvest his organs. Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, a San Francisco transplant surgeon, is accused of the crime 2 1/2 years ago in the death of Ruben Navarro, 25.

Navarro died in a San Luis Obispo hospital after a heart attack, after he was taken off a ventilator and prepared for organ donation.

Roozrokh, 34, faces one count of felony dependent adult abuse and a potential of four years in prison. There is also civil liability that may follow in a torts case. Navarro had a debilitating neurological disease and was in a coma after the heart attack. However, his kidneys and liver were never harvested because he did not die within a time frame needed for the organs to be viable.

The case is based on statements from nurses in the operating room that Roozrokh improperly ordered excessive doses of morphine and a sedative for Navarro.

Roozrokh was associated with Kaiser Permanente’s now-closed kidney transplant program.

The hospital and its parent company settled a lawsuit last year filed by Rosa Navarro for $250,000.

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