COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — The medical director at a Colonial Heights nursing home charged with elder abuse for what prosecutors call a "lack of oversight of patient care" will be allowed to continue to practice medicine at the facility.
Prosecutors had appealed a previous decision by a judge to allow Dr. Gohar Abbasi to continue to practice medicine at the facility while the case plays out in court.
But Judge Steven B. Novey said while aspects of the case are "very concerning,” he felt it was up to the Medical Board to decide if he should be prohibited from practicing medicine, as opposed to making that a condition of his bond.
This case involves a patient at Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center named Timothy Holton.
Holton was homeless and sleeping outside a 7- Eleven when he was run over by a car.
His injuries and subsequent rehabilitation led to his admission to the facility.
Watch previous coverage: Man was run over behind Virginia 7-Eleven, police say
Prosecutor Noelle Nochisaki said Dr. Abbasi was not only the medical director at the facility, but also Holton’s attending doctor there, and he should not have allowed Holton to sign himself out of the facility.
Court documents obtained by CBS 6 revealed Colonial Heights Police received "numerous calls" between Jan. 12 and Jan. 14 about a man wandering city streets and dumping waste out of a colostomy bag.
The man reportedly "could barely walk," was "stumbling, if not falling down," and had a "very unsteady gait.”
But according to the complaint, when a detective talked to Dr. Abbasi about this case, he stated the man "was of sound mind and signed himself out of the facility [against medical advice].”
Prosecutors allege Abbasi "never physically saw [the victim] to make that determination.”
Abbasi’s lawyer, Eric Atkinson, argued his client was not working the weekend Holton left the facility and you can’t hold someone accountable for a patient they never met and knew nothing about.
He also argued that if anyone is responsible in this case, it’s the patient themselves.
Atkinson claimed the facility deemed Holton cognitively intact on admission to Colonial Heights.
Court records said a VCU psychologist who had recently evaluated the man declared him not competent and unable to make medical decisions by himself.
VCU Medical Center turned over all rights to the man's brother to sign off on surgeries that were performed before the man's arrival at Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
Abbasi is next due in court on March 26.
CBS 6 is following this story. Click here to email the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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