Michael Jackson's doctor had conflict of interest, expert testifies
The director
of Stanford University’s sports
medicine program testified Monday that Michael
Jackson’s doctor for his “This Is It” concert series, who administered a
fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to the singer, had conflicts of interest with the tour promoter that “were
likely to lead to poor medical decisions.”
Testifying
in the wrongful death case brought by Jackson’s
mother and children against promoter and producer AEG Live and two of its
executives, Dr. Gordon Matheson said
Dr. Conrad Murray’s debts meant he badly needed the $150,000 a month he was
supposed to receive. Matheson testified that the contract made him answerable
to AEG rather than his patient, and that because he would have been out of a
job if the 50 concerts had been postponed, Murray was more likely to want to
please the company.
Matheson,
who has an M.D. and a doctorate, said that when Jackson’s health deteriorated,
“that conflict played out.”
Matheson
testified under the assumption that Murray had a contract with AEG, one of the
most contentious points at the trial, which just completed its 35th day of
testimony. The Jacksons say that AEG negligently hired and supervised the
doctor, while the entertainment company says any money it was supposed to pay
him was an advance to Jackson, who was Murray's employer. Murray signed his
contract the day before Jackson died on June 25, 2009. Neither AEG nor Jackson
signed it.
The Stanford
doctor, who worked as the team physician for the Vancouver Canucks professional
hockey team and the Canadian Olympic hockey team, said it didn’t make a
difference that AEG didn’t sign the contract because the terms had been
negotiated, and that Murray was “fully engaged” and had passed on his bank
information to the company so he could get paid.
“Whether it
was signed or not didn’t change my feeling as to whether there was conflict of
interest,” he testified.
Matheson
pointed to a line in the contract that said Murray was to “Perform the services
reasonably requested by Producer.” The language he said, tied Dr. Murray to AEG
even though his was supposed to be looking after Jackson’s health, creating a
conflict “as to which of the interests is primary.”
AEG has
argued that the contract Murray signed was one of the three or four drafts and
that “Producer” was one of several mistakes that would have been corrected in
the final version of the contract.
Matheson
wondered why Murray would close his practice when he faced losing his job
caring for Jackson if the show were canceled, especially since he was in such
bad financial straits. “It can produce a bias in the thinking where Dr. Murray
wants to preserve that income at all costs and keep the people paying that
income happy,” he said.
Matheson
discussed several emails written by AEG executives, the tour manager and tour
director that have become central pieces evidence in the trial. In one email,
AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware wrote of Murray, “We want to remind him that
it is AEG, not MJ who is paying his salary. We want him to understand what is
expected of him.”
Matheson
said the email “relates directly to attempts to control the doctor’s decision-making
or professional judgment.”
He likened
it to a quarterback being pulled from a game in the fourth quarter because of
an injury and the team owner pressuring the doctor to put him back into the
game by reminding the physician that he was paying his salary. “We wouldn’t
normally put an athlete back into the game when they had worsening symptoms
related to their health,” he said.
The sports
medicine expert said that in order to avoid conflicts, the doctors for Stanford
athletic teams are in charge of an athlete’s healthcare. He said they also
teach or perform research at the university so their decisions about athletes
don’t affect their income. He said there is a separate facility away from the
coaches where players and doctors can have confidential discussions.
Matheson
said that an email from AEG Live Chief Executive Randy Phillips showed he was
aware of the potential conflict with Murray but did not believe one existed. In
the email he wrote that Murray “does not need this gig he is totally unbiased
and ethical.”
Source: www.latimes.com
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