Doctor performs surgery while appearing in court trial on Zoom for traffic violation
Court trial on Zoom
The virtual videoconference in Zoom has become a sensation in times of novel coronavirus, but several weird and unexpected meetings have also been held on the platform.
And in the latest incident, a surgeon appeared in his trial while operating a patient at Sacramento superior court in California, reports Sacramento Bee.
In the trial on Zoom, the doctor was dressed in surgical scrubs with medical machinery beeping and the patient, who cannot be seen, undergoing the operation.
"Hello, Mr Green? Hi. Are you available for trial?" a courtroom clerk asked the surgeon who was facing hearings for a traffic violation.
"It kind of looks like you're in an operating room right now?"
"I am, sir," Green responded.
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After confirming that he was in an operating room, the surgeon gave permission to the clerk to go ahead with the trial.
The clerk made the surgeon realise that the proceedings were being livestreamed as traffic trials are supposed to be open for public.
Till the time court commissioner, Gary Link was about to enter the chamber, the doctor kept his head down and was appeared to continue working.
Seeing Green being involved in the surgery, the judge remained hesitant to start the trial.
"I have another surgeon right here who's doing the surgery with me, so I can stand here and allow them to do the surgery also," Green said.
The judge said it's not appropriate to continue the hearing as the surgeon was "not actively involved or participating and attending to the needs of a patient".
Following the incident, the Medical Board of California reminded the surgeon that it "expects physicians to follow the standard of care when treating their patients".
The board also said that it will probe the matter.