Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who treated the late Michael Jackson and allegedly overdosed the music pop star that resulted in his death, is under major legal heat for malpractice, the New York Times reports today.

Dr. Murray claims that he made no errors with Jackson. However, the Los Angeles County medical examiner has determined Jackson died of an overdose of propofol, a powerful sedative used during surgery, and another sedative, lorazepam; the police are trying to determine if Dr. Murray made mistakes, either through negligence or by consciously disregarding risks of the drugs, that would warrant a manslaughter or murder charge.

The key question facing prosecutors and the grand jury is whether Dr. Murray was negligent, and if so, to what degree, legal experts said. For an involuntary manslaughter conviction, prosecutors would have to show only that Dr. Murray took a reckless action — one a reasonable doctor would not take — that created a risk of death or bodily injury. For second-degree murder, however, they would have to prove he knew the cocktail of medicines could cause death and ignored the risk, legal experts said.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/us/27murray.html?scp=1&sq=September+27+2009&st=nyt