Kearl

Introduction

Petitioner Sherman L. Kearl, M.D., appeals from a judgment denying his petition for a writ of mandate ordering respondent to set aside its decision to suspend petitioner’s medical license for one year, the suspension to be stayed during a two-year probation period. This decision was based on respondent’s findings petitioner was grossly negligent in his anesthesia of Janet Halverson, in that he failed to record her vital signs at five-minute intervals commencing with the start of anesthesia and he demonstrated incompetence in his anesthesia of Rosa Ortiz, specifically in the anesthetic solution chosen for and the dosage of anesthetic administered to her.

Statement of Facts

Petitioner received his medical degree from California College of Medicine in 1965 and was licensed to practice medicine in California in 1966. He began a residency program in anesthesiology which was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army. He served as chief of anesthetic and operative services for the military at a hospital in Tokyo; upon completion of his military service, he returned to California where he completed his residency. Since that time, he has practiced…