Conn. court to hear appeal of disciplined doctor

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of a controversial New Haven pediatrician who says state officials were wrong to discipline him for the way he treated two children with Lyme disease.

Justices will hear the appeal of Dr. Charles Ray Jones on Thursday.

The Connecticut Medical Examining Board reprimanded Jones, fined him $10,000 and put him on two years of probation in 2007 for violating care standards. The board said Jones prescribed antibiotics for the children without having examined them, based on conversations with their mother.

Jones says the Medical Examining Board's standard of proof of care violations is too low.

Patients praise Jones for treating Lyme disease with long courses of antibiotics, but many in the medical community say his methods are unproven.