This is an almost impossible standard to meet, and it has left hospitals immune to the actions of whatever doctors they bring on. In 2008 one of his patients died of a prescription drug overdose after he had prescribed her a lethal dose of the painkiller Tramadol. When he arrived in Dallas in late 2010, Duntsch's resume spoke of a skilled neurosurgeon: An M.D. So the board members tend to act conservatively. Because the credentialing process is deemed confidential under Texas Law, we are not permitted to discuss specific physicians or specific requests other than to say all policies were followed.. Meanwhile, he was continuing to get patients, continuing to operate. Texas law states that hospitals are liable for damages caused by doctors in their facilities only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital acted with malicethat is, the hospital knew of extreme risk and ignored itin credentialing a doctor. We moved in together within three months, and then I became pregnant.. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. I'm a complex spine surgeon. "The nerve root had been severed. He wanted to live the high life and a neurosurgeon makes big bucks. Duntschs explanation, along with the email from Baylor, was enough to get him a trial run of five surgeries at Dallas Medical Center. The one-time neurosurgeon was sentenced by the 12-member jury to spend the remainder of his life behind bars Monday afternoon. Jodi Smith. "I think all of us will be thinking about things like this, and hopefully there will be some tighter controls, more accountability in a lot of areas so something like this wont happen again. They all have blood on their hands.. And in its place is where he had placed the fusion. Before we ask if the board does its job, we have to ask what is the job the Legislature assigned to the board, and what resources the board gets to do that job. Yet Arafiles didnt surrender his license until November 2011, after he had been convicted of a felony. But more than anything, we don't get to know Christopher Duntsch. He didnt tell them about Baylors internal reports that faulted him in both cases, according to Henderson. Christopher Duntsch - AKA Dr. Death - spent 18 months as a practicing surgeon at multiple Texas hospitals until he had his license revoked in 2013. Brown was later found unresponsive in her hospital room and staff couldnt contact Duntsch for 90 minutes, according to those records. It was just one simple procedure before her trip, but Martin would never to make it Antigua or see her husband or two adult daughters again. Duntsch's trial took place in 2017. It was widely acknowledged that Christopher was a confident person, and D Magazine reported that many liked him immediately when they met him (though his fellow neurosurgeons reportedly found him to be "fast-talking and cocksure"). Sometimes we know that someones bad, but when it comes to taking them to a hearing and proving it to where we can actually do some disciplinary action, it takes time of gathering evidence. First, the Medical Board staff has to screen every complaint and has 45 days to decide whether the agency will act on it. Christopher Duntsch, 46, was initially charged with five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and one count of injuring an elderly person, 1 but the trial focused on the last charge, which alleged that Duntsch deliberately harmed Mary Efurd, then aged 72, in a 2012 operation that left her in a wheelchair. If you were a patient in the Dallas area around this time looking for a spine surgeon, there would have been nothing to suggest that Duntsch was a risky choice. During a spinal surgery on his childhood friend and roommate, Jerry Summers, Duntsch damaged an artery and rendered him a quadriplegic. The romance played out mostly in Duntsch's office at Baylor Plano, where he often did research after hours and drank vodka from a handle of Stoli he kept under his desk, according to D Magazine. Christopher Duntsch and Jerry Summers weren't only best friends - they took care of one another. That July, Duntsch was firing off panicked emails to his business partners at 4 am. CHRISTOPHER Duntsch, is infamously known as Dr Death for gross malpractice. Christopher Duntsch's case was the subject of Wondery's podcast, "Dr. Death," which was released in 2018. By the time the Texas Medical Board revoked his license in June 2013, Duntsch had left two patients dead and four paralyzed in a series of botched surgeries. She alsoalleged tothe magazine that he broke into her apartment, showing up one day covered in blood. In 1998, the board found Dr. Greggory Phillips to be addicted to painkillers, and that he was prescribing painkillers to himself and family members. I dont know what it is," she said on CNBC's American Greed. Editors note: For more information about Dr. Christopher Duntschs case, listen to the 2018 podcast Dr. But it wouldnt be the end of the trouble between the pair. He said he had no doubt that his son cared about his patients. Promising Beginnings Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. He was functioning at a first- or second-year neurosurgical resident level but had no apparent insight into how bad his technique was.. This will not bring my mother back, but it is some sense of justice for the all the families, for all of the victims.. But a second opinion wouldnt have helped. In February of 2017, Christopher was sentenced to life in prison. The Peacock originalDr Deathis based on atrue story. In 2017, Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of maiming one of his patients. Death,which tells a dramatized version of the doctors brief, but deadly, medical career in Texas, including thestruggles he faced in his complicated romantic life as he tried to juggle multiplerelationships. The procedure can improve stability in the back, according to the Mayo Clinic, and relieve pain. They used phrases like the worst surgeon Ive ever seen. One doctor I spoke with, brought in to repair one of Duntschs spinal fusion cases, remarked that it seemed Duntsch had learned everything perfectly just so he could do the opposite. Doctors rights are to be protected at every step of the process. So while hospital administrators did a deeper background examination, they granted Duntsch temporary privileges. On June 26, the board held an emergency meeting and suspended Duntschs license. I left with him and believed in him and then, you know, he just kind of fell apart.. Public Citizen found that 793 Texas doctors had lost clinical privileges between 1990 and 2011. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. At first, Henderson thought Duntsch might be an impostor. and a Ph.D. from a top-tier medical school, a decade of experience, and a central role in a pioneering stem-cell treatment. Those are the words that Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon, wrote to his girlfriend in 2011 in the midst of a two-year period that left 33 of his 38 patients maimed, wounded or . Though a hospital peer review took this doctors privileges in 2006, he continued to practice for three more years until he retired, according to federal records. The operation was a spinal fusion in which two vertebrae are joined; surgeons use a metal plate to help hold the vertebrae together. The Collin County medical examiner who performed the autopsy was so astounded by what had happened to Kellie Martins body that he brought her back in for another examination. Kirby said Duntsch had problems at nearly every step of the operation. Its left to hospitals to police their doctors. In the time between the first complaint to the board, and when Duntsch was finally stopped on June 26, five of his patients were seriously injured and one died. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. He was friendly, and we had good conversation. Her spine was pockmarked with screw holes, and a screw had been lodged in another nerve root near the bottom of her spine," D Magazine describes. A Texas neurosurgeon accused of intentionally botching multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in the death of two . But in Texas, when you go to see a doctor, there is a small but real chance that the doctor has been found by his or her peers to be a danger to the public, and that no one has bothered to do anything about it yet. Here's All That Happened to the Real Christopher Duntsch, The Best Peacock Shows to Start Streaming Now, Leann Rimes Shares Video Montage for Anniversary. 2 Killer doctor Christopher Duntsch Credit: Social Media - Refer to Source Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? In 2015, Duntsch was charged with five counts of aggravated assault for allegedly mishandling spinal surgeries, and one count of injuring an elderly person, according to the Dallas Morning News. . The protections make some sense. It shouldnt happen again.". We now know that the Texas Medical Board was working behind the scenes in summer 2012, trying to find grounds to temporarily suspend Duntschs license. The show starsJoshua Jackson,Grace Gummer, AnnaSophia Robb,Christian SlaterandAlec Baldwin. Following Summers surgery, Baylor Plano suspended Duntsch for 30 daysafter that, he was supposed to be supervised on every surgery he performed, according to Kirby. After his license was suspended, Duntsch disappeared. "Dr. Death" and the companion docuseries "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story" are both available to stream on Peacock now. The boards mandate, spelled out in the Medical Practice Act, recognizes a doctors license as a hard-won, valuable credential. He talked impressive. [3] Another had 13 civil judgments against him, including for wrongful death, permanent injury and two cases of removing the wrong body part. I had so much anger, because my life changed so much. Travel ban concerns some in Iowa, which relies on foreign-born doctors. Its more or less satisfied with the way that things work.. Those who met him described him as being fast-talking, confident, and someone who always had a plan to fix patients' ailments, per D Magazine. He works out, he reads, he studies the Bible. As those watching the show know, Christopher was dubbed "Dr. Death" in D Magazine for his botched surgeries that caused the death of several patients and left others with disabling injuries. When Summers woke up he couldnt move his arms or legs. Kalighat MS (Division B) Matches played. The pair met in 2011 at a Memphis bar, known as the Beauty Shop, according toa 2016D Magazineprofile of Duntschs scandalous medical career. But the Legislature hindered plaintiffs cases even more by allowing hospitals to, in most cases, keep credentialing information confidential. The 2022 Calcutta Football League Premier Division was the 124th overall season of the two highest state-level football divisions of West Bengal. 2023 . The temporary suspension was a power the Legislature gave the board in 2003. This was a very rare phenomenonmost of the doctors who reported Duntsch had never filed a report before. "I think its going to be like a floodgate thats going to really open, crying. Duntsch was first reported to the state medical board in 2012, per the Texas Observer. In July of that year, Duntsch was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of harming an elderly person. In February 2021, Summers died of an infection directly related to the surgery. The relationship between Duntsch and Morgan would come to an end after he leftBaylor Medical Center in Planoamidst criticism that he had botched multiple surgeries, including one that left a patient dead. Dr. Death is the new true-crime drama on Peacock, based on the 2018 podcast series of the same name. I was very independent and I had to become dependent on others for transportation, for my meals, for a lot of things," she said. A CT scan found that the metal spinal fusion hardware, meant to be placed on the patients spine to keep the vertebrae from moving, was sunk into the muscles of her lower back, inches from her spine. He said that Summers had broken down in to uncontrolled crying and said, I know your brother would never do this to me on purpose.. I was very independent and I had to become dependent on others for transportation, for my meals, for a lot of things.". He was a megalomaniac. Its hard to find good conversation with a random person, Young told the magazine. He had no idea what he was doing. At the time, Duntsch had been fielding offers in Dallas, San Diego and New York from medical centers eager to have a neurosurgeon with his seemingly impressive resume on staff. Over this period, Duntsch performed back surgeries that left his patients in a worse condition, paralyzed, or deceased. It takes the Texas Medical Board an average of nine months to resolve complaints. Dr. Randall Kirby was another surgeon at Baylor Plano. The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. Many of his patients suffered severe spinal cord damage, resulting in paralysis and pain severe enough to render painkillers ineffective. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: In late 2010, Dr. Christopher Duntsch came to Dallas to start a neurosurgery practice. Because of greed. Forty-five minutes passed, then an hour, two hours, with no word. On the right side, there was a screw through a portion of the S1 nerve root.. This is what I wanted, she said. "Rather than protecting the public from harm, Baylor allowed him [Duntsch] to be passed on from hospital to hospital," Van Wey told the Dallas News. Dr. Christopher Duntsch, better known as Doctor Death, is serving a life sentence at a Texas prison today, according to his inmate record. In January 2012, he assisted on one of Duntschs surgeries. He was very eloquent in stating the causes and the need for the procedure. In 2012, when Efurd was 74, she saw Duntsch for what should have been a relatively simple surgery to fuse two of her vertebrae. His dad is a physical therapist. Duntsch went back into the operating room and left Don waiting. Further, both works question Duntsch's perspective. and a Ph.D. from a top-tier medical school, a decade of experience, and a central role in a pioneering stem-cell treatment. More than a year had passed since Kellie Martins death and the complaint that started it all. I think their rationale was, hes a trained neurosurgeon, a combined M.D.-Ph.D., Henderson said. Within a month of hiring Kimberly Morgan, who was a nurse practitioner, to help him run his new practice, the pair were sleeping together, according to the podcast. "Ninety-nine percent of everything that has been said about me is completely false.". He had a doctorate in molecular biology as well as a medical degree from the University. In a specialized field like neurosurgery, that means further months of delay. Duntsch grew up in a middle-class family. Young was soon pregnantbut Duntsch had already developed a wandering eye. Though the Texas Medical Board is required by statute to investigate any doctor with more than three malpractice suits, no action was ever taken against the doctor by the state. Over the next year, the Medical Board would receive at least six more complaints from doctors who had seen Duntschs work up close. .css-1omz5nv{background-color:#E61957;border-radius:50rem;color:#000;display:inline-block;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:0.02em;line-height:1.3;padding:0.625rem 1.25rem;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-transform:uppercase;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;width:auto;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1omz5nv{min-width:7.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-1omz5nv{min-width:11.25rem;}}.css-1omz5nv:focus-visible{outline-color:body-cta-btn-link-focus;}.css-1omz5nv:hover{color:#fff;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;background-color:#9D002F;}Watch Dr. Death. Deathand the intense media scrutiny surrounding the shocking case would drive Young out of Dallas with the couples two sons. He felt confident. Competing on home soil, Zverev lost 7-6 (7/ . So I called them up, and they said, Will you fill out a complaint, and well probably read the complaint in about 30 days, and well start an investigation after that., I said, You dont seem to understand. You could have a Medical Board thats the size of the [Texas Department of Public Safety], she said, but the state doesnt want that. At every step of the way, you would have to know the right thing to do so you could do the wrong thing, because he did all the wrong things.. That complaint was filedalong with the 6,000 to 8,000 other complaints the Medical Board receives each year, in addition to the thousands of licensure applications the agencys 156 employees must review. Why didnt he stop? Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! When the Medical Board suspended Duntschs license, the agencys spokespeople too seemed shocked. Another suffered a sliced vertebral artery which led to a stroke and later death. Or, was he actually a skilled surgeon intent on defying the Hippocratic Oath, and deliberately causing harm? Another woman named Megan Kane claimed he ate a paper blotter of LSD and took prescription painkillers in the early 2000s on his birthday. Dr. Duntsch's surviving surgery patients suffered a range of debilitating conditions, which ProPublica details: Permanent nerve damage, paralysis, loss of vocal cords. Every year the board is both overseeing many more doctors and bringing in more money. "One surgeon described these as 'never events.' Im just so grateful from the bottom of my heart, she said. Ellisontold thepodcast that Morgan was instantly smitten with the doctor. At trial, prosecutors opted only to pursue the harming an elderly person charge connected to his failed surgery on MaryEfurd; however, other victims would also testify at trial. For one, there was alleged drug and alcohol abuse. Duntsch continued to operate in the year it took for the board to investigate him. Duntsch was a highlysought-after neurosurgeon who promised her a life filled with extravagance and success. For weeks, jurors heard the accounts of patients who had been maimed or paralyzed in bungled surgeries. (So far only Mary Efurd and the family of Floella Brown have filed suit against Duntsch, though the other patients or their families have all retained counsel as well.). Young is portrayed in the dramatized series by actress Molly Griggs, who brings to life the couples volatile arguments, including onedepiction in whichYoung announcesshe is pregnant just months into their relationship to a less-than-thrilled Duntsch, played by former Dawsons Creek star Joshua Jackson. The conversation took place in January 2013, after it had become clear that Duntsch would practice until someone stopped him, six months before anyone actually did. But no one bothered to tell the Martinsand there was no way for them to knowthat their doctor had left a man paralyzed a month before in a case in which the hospitals own surgeons found him at fault. I dont know what it is, she said. Near the end of his report, Kirby wrote, The [Medical Board] must stop this sociopath Duntsch immediately or he will continue [to] maim and kill innocent patients. Perhaps it was the completeness and forcefulness of his presentation, perhaps it was the fact that another neurosurgeon had just joined the board, and he understood as none of the rest did the severity of what Duntsch had done. They showed photos of him as a baby, as a toddler, and as a boy getting a soccer ball for Christmas. Christopher Duntsch shattered that trust over the course of a few years, ruining countless lives. And while the Medical Board investigated, the pattern continued. To become a neurosurgeon, one typically has to complete over 1000 surgeries in residency, but somehow, reporter Laura Beil discovered that Duntsch only completed 100. Another spinal fusion; another routine procedure. So to be able to do that much wrong, I felt that he must have known at some point in time how to do it right. Once Duntsch proved himself inept, hospitals let him resign instead of going through the legal process of firing him. By the time she was transferred to UT Southwestern Medical Center later that day, she was brain dead. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Wendy Young believed she had finally met her Prince Charming after crossing paths with Christopher Duntsch. Two weeks later, on June 14, 2013, Kirby got a call to come to University General to do a recovery surgery on one of Duntschs patients. The series is based on reporting from the podcast Dr. Death, from the same production studio that created Dirty John. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. Once Duntsch left Baylor, he was no longer the hospitals problem. His performance, Kirby wrote, was pathetic . So why didnt he stop? Shughart said. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Christopher Duntsch, who once claimed to be a mixture of "God, Einstein and the Antichrist," injured or killed 33 of his 38 patients in less than two years, according to prosecutors. He was the eldest of four.They described him as the bright, precocious little boy who had taken care of a sick bird and loved dogs. Anatomy of a Tragedy. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. After losing his license, Duntsch filed for bankruptcy and returned to Colorado, where his parents live. Duntschs license is currently on temporary suspension pending further action by the board. His victims also had descriptors. This guy already killed somebody, made another a quad, made a partial paraplegic out of my patient. I said, He needs to be stopped. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. The jury came back with their verdict in about an hour. Brown had suffered excessive blood loss and a stroke, according to the agency. He went to the operating room and asked to speak to the doctor. Even Christopher's childhood friend, Jerry Summers, was unable to move his arms and legs after entrusting the surgeon with a cervical fusion surgery. The process for resolving complaints is slow and painstaking, set up in statute to guarantee doctors the maximum legal protection. It was supposed to be a simple procedure, which is, perhaps, why Baylor didnt put anyone in the operating room to supervise Duntsch. You know in the beginning he talked about marriage. I had so much anger, because my life changed so much. Because he had no conscience. Shes also worked as a social editor for House Beautiful and had previous writing stints at Redbook,CosmopolitanandSeventeen. Like pilot trainingyou dont expect a trained pilot to get drunk and fly his plane into the ground., But its more complicated than that. After his wife died, Don Martin found himself at a loss. He was found guilty of his crimes in 2017 and sentenced to life in prison. A 27-year-old Young had been working as a stripper in Memphis when she met Duntsch, then 40. Given the graphic subject matter, if you're squeamish, keep your finger on the "fast forward" button while watching Dr. Death. He injured or killed 33 surgical patients between 2011 and 2013.
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