Like a bad episode of “Doogie Howser, M.D.” except in this case the teenager was NOT a doctor. Per an article on CNN, this pint-sized wanna be medical man may soon be in a world of trouble…
Matthew Scheidt, 18, is currently on trial in Florida on four counts of practicing medicine without a license and two counts of impersonating a physician assistant during time he spent at the Osceola Regional Medical Center. He is accused of getting a medical badge through a clerical error and working “rounds” as a doctor, going so far as giving CPR to a suspected drug overdose victim.
His defense? The hospital was to blame for giving him an badge identifying him as a doctor! The suspect claimed that he went to the hospital to get a badge to work as a clerk at a doctor’s office across the street. Due to a clerical error, he was given a badge identifying him as a physician assistant. During an interview, the suspect did not sound remorseful.
“Their error was putting me in apparently as a physician assistant into their computer,” Scheidt told investigators. “Let’s even say that I said I was a physician assistant. Let’s even say that I was. Are you that stupid that you are just going to put me in the system as that, without any credentials or any paperwork or nothing?”
The State attorneys prosecting the case claims that the suspect used the incorrect badge to spend weeks working in the hospital, helping to conduct medical exams and changing bandages.
Despite an alleged full confession and a mountain of evidence against him, he has pled “not guilty” and has maintained his innocence. One thing that may not help him? Just a few months after bonding out on these charges, he was arrested and put back in jail for a new count of impersonating a police officer! Forget “Doogie Howser”, this is sounding more like a bad version of the ’80s classic, “The Secret of My Sucess“…
Have you or a loved one been arrested or accused of a crime? Then call the St. Petersburg Criminal Defense lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today! These former prosecutors have the knowledge and experience you need on your case. They handle all criminal and personal injury cases throughout the Gulf Coast of Florida including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Call the St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyers at 727.286.6141 or email them at the contact portion of the website.