UCLA chemistry professor ordered to stand trial for lab fire case
By Daily Bruin
April 26, 2013 2:02 p.m.
A judge has ordered UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran to stand trial for felony charges regarding the death of a staff research assistant in a laboratory fire more than four years ago.
Last year, Harran was charged with willfully violating state occupational health and safety codes, after a chemical ignited the sweater of research assistant Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji in 2008. Sangji was reportedly not wearing a lab coat at the time.
In court this morning, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the case, said Thomas O’Brien, Harran’s lawyer.
UCLA has claimed from the beginning that the death was a tragic accident and that Sangji was properly trained to work with the chemicals that caused the fire.
“Patrick Harran is a talented and dedicated faculty member, and our support for him is unwavering,” Chancellor Gene Block said in statement released today. “Ever since the accident, UCLA has been working to enhance lab safety, and we will continue that work in the years ahead.”
But prosecutors have contended that there is no proof Sangji was trained properly, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We fully expect that the jury will find that this was nothing more than a tragic accident,” O’Brien said.
Harran could face four and a half years in prison if convicted, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Compiled by Erin Donnelly, Bruin senior staff.
