Patel's lawyer will fight any extradition attempt
The surgeon - Dr. Jayant Patel of Portland, Ore. - should also face six counts of grievous bodily harm and 16 charges of fraud, Queensland state Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson told reporters Monday.
The recommendations were forwarded along with stacks of evidence compiled over several months of investigation to the state's public prosecutor, who will now decide whether to bring charges, Atkinson said.
Police would also recommend a further two counts of grievous bodily harm in the coming days, Atkinson said.
Another 200 counts of grievous bodily harm could also be recommended as police investigations continue, he said.
"I would like to stress that these briefs only relate to some of the complaints and police will continue to investigate a large number of other matters," Atkinson said.
More than 35,000 pages of evidence were handed to the Queensland prosecutors, along with the results of 350 investigative interviews, Atkinson said.
Patel was hired by the Bundaberg Base Hospital in eastern Australia in 2003, despite having been disciplined for negligence by medical boards in two U.S. states - Oregon and New York.
A six-month inquiry into Patel's tenure at the hospital found that he may have contributed directly to the deaths of at least 13 patients who died through an "unacceptable level of care."
Patel, now a U.S. citizen, left Australia in April after complaints about his practice first surfaced. He is believed to be living in Portland, Ore.
Patel came to Portland in 1989 when he was hired by Kaiser Permanente Northwest. He quickly became one of the hospital's busiest surgeons and often performed the toughest operations, such as repairing the colon and removing tumors.
But Patel also became involved in a string of problem cases, eight of which prompted or would lead to malpractice or wrongful death lawsuits.
Kaiser restricted his surgical practice in 1998 after an investigation that later led state medical regulators to discipline him in 2000 after a separate investigation. He resigned from Kaiser in 2001.
If Queensland prosecutors decide to bring charges against Patel, he could be extradited to Australia under a 1974 treaty between the two countries.
Patel has repeatedly refused to comment on the allegations.
His Portland-based lawyer, Stephen Houze, has said he will fight any effort to extradite his client to Australia because saturation media coverage of Patel's case has jeopardized his chances of getting a fair trial.
Houze did not immediately return a phone call to his Portland office late Sunday night in Oregon.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)