Steven Shafer

Steven Shafer was a prosecution witness in the trial of Conrad Murray. Shafer is an expert in pharmacokinetics (rate of onset of drug effects, duration of effects, and elimination of drug effects, in sum) and pharmacometrics with 20 years of experience working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). His field of interest involves mathematically modeling how a dose of drug translates to concentrations in the body and its effects on a patient. He has published 19 papers about the pharmacokinetics of propofol. Pharmacokinetics involves the study of the dilution of drug in a patient's blood stream.

Shafer testified about the history of the dosing guidelines of propofol.

Education
Shafer graduated Princeton University for his Bachelor's degree. He received his M.D. from Stanford University.

Proposed Theories
Dr. Steven Shafer testified that Conrad Murray committed 17 "egregious" violations of the standard of care that any violation on its own could have resulted in the death of Michael Jackson. The 17 violations Shafer testified Conrad Murray committed were:

1. The lack of the basic emergency airway equipment.

2. The lack of the advanced emergency airway equipment.

3. The lack of suction apparatus.

4. The lack of an IV infusion pump.

5. The lack of alarmed pulse oximetry.

6. The failure to use a blood pressure cuff.

7. The lack of an electrocardiogram.

8. The lack of capnography.

9. The failure to maintain a doctor-patient relationship.

10. The failure to continuously monitor the mental status of the patient.

11. The failure to continuously monitor the breathing of the patient.

12. The failure to continuously monitor blood pressure and pulse oximetry, and to have heart monitors.

13. The failure to call 911 immediately.

14. The failure to chart at the outset of the procedure (egregious and unconscionable).

15. The failure to maintain written informed consent (egregious and unconscionable).

16. The failure to document throughout the course of sedation (egregious and unconscionable).

17. The failure to disclose to both the paramedics and UCLA the use of propofol and what Murray witnessed at the arrest.