He harmed the very people who trusted him. Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord, permanent damage to his esophagus and partial paralysis on his left side. He wrote, "You will not find a harder working or more willing individual." I have one last thing to remind the Texas Medical Boardyour mission is to protect the publicDr. Or at least a morally upright one. It's thrilling if uncomfortable to listen. Sadly, being moral and good aren't therequisites schools need to let someone become a doctor. He showed a complete lack of knowledge regarding anatomy and medical procedures, making numerous mistakes along the way that should have been avoided. But on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Duntsch went back in. Swango is estimated to have been involved in as many as 60 fatal poisonings of patients and colleagues, though he admitted to causing only four deaths. Instead of performing the miracles he promised for his patients, he injured33 out of 38 of the people in his carein less than two years. Jodi Smith. Between 2010, when he began his surgery practice, and 2013, Duntsch, then in his early forties, performed many operations that resulted in severe injury or death. Surprisingly, his superiors at The University of Tennessee also gave him glowing reviews. Many ofDuntsch's patient-turned-victims filed malpractice suits, according to Dallas News. Kane came into the picture as a deposition witness. Floella Brown went under Dr. Death's knife in July 2012 and shortly after her surgery, she suffered a massive stroke caused by Duntsch slicing her vertebral artery during surgery. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Hospitals are liable only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital was also malicious, that it knew of the risk and ignored it. With Ignatova and Kukekov in tow, he filed patents under a company he founded. He refused to abort the surgery even after a trauma surgeon colleague and an anesthesiologist warned him about the blood loss. How much money did Christopher Duntsch make? Yet, instead of saving lives and using his knowledge for good, the opposite happened. The story of Duntsch is featured in a new Peacock show titled Dr. Death, unleashing the terrifying reality. In 2012, Summers underwent spinal surgery performed by Dr. Duntsch in an effort to improve his neck and arm pain. He declared bankruptcy after listing debts of over $1 million. Dallas County The final episode of. In it, he is yelling at Maria Lopez, the medical board investigator assigned to Duntsch's case in January 2013, demanding to know why he was still practicing. As Dr. The Real Story Behind the Dr. Death Podcast - Christopher Duntsch Christopher Duntsch had two children: Preston and Aiden. After seeing the damage that Duntsch had done to Glidewell, Randall Kirby and Dr. Robert Henderson were called in to repair the damage. The monster in the white coat is all too real. Christopher Duntsch, is responsible for paralyzing two patients in Texas over the course of two years through botched operations. So I feel like it was like a mixture of drugs, I think hubris, I think narcissism I dont think he was a good doctor. [9] He was suspected of being under the influence of cocaine while operating during his fourth year of residency training, and was sent to a program for impaired physicians. Duntsch is a former neurosurgeon born in 1971 in Montana . Seven more doctors voiced complaints before TMB finally canceled Dr. Death's license. He felt that anyone with a basic knowledge of human anatomy would know that he was operating in the wrong area of Efurd's back. Most doctors would pull themselves out of the field after a few botched surgeries because of the guilt they have to carry after permanently hurting someone. Amphibia Season 2 Now Streaming on Disney+! His investors took him to court. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. [7], While in Memphis, Duntsch began a long-term relationship with Wendy Renee Young. What Was 'Dr. Death' Christopher Duntsch's Background? | True Crime Buzz "[38], The director of neurosurgery at UT Southwestern, Carlos Bagley, testifying for the defense, said that "the only way this happens is that the entire system fails the patients. He said, "What I am being is what I am, one of kind, a mother f****r stone cold killer that can buy or own or steal or ruin or build whatever he wants.". Now, we're learning more about the true story of this horrific tale with Peacock's Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story. At Baylor Regional Medical Center, during a simple laminectomy, Duntsch slashed one of Martin's major arteries butrefused to admit his mistake. I mean, he had some surgeries, he had a handful of surgeries that went fine. And what stops another physicianfrom turning into the next Dr. Death? He proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. "It was as if the person doing the surgery knew what he was doing but did everything wrong," Dr. At the time, hospitals were not required to report doctors who only had temporary privileges. Glidewell was reportedly still suffering the ill effects of Duntsch's operation years later and has undergone more than 50 procedures to correct the damage. In the deposition, she states that Duntsch snorted cocaine from a handy pile he kept on a dresser at his home. Death limited series, neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (played by Joshua Jackson), maimed and killed so many patients who came in for complex but routine procedures. Duntsch did not respond to messages from the hospital for a few hours, then the next day scheduled an elective surgery on Efurd rather than care for Brown. IMDb [38] Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. In 2014, they performed a complicated spinal fusion surgery on Glidewell, which ultimately ended up being Dr. Duntschs final surgery before he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault. Where Is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death Now? He Got A - Bustle The Secrets of Stardew Valleys Elusive Eel, Praetorium FFXIV A Different Perspective, Edwin Rist: The Feather Thief of the British Museum, New Moon: Reflecting Edwards Perspective, Storing Brazil Nuts for Maximum Shelf Life, The Mysterious Clicks of the Black Bird: Deciphering The Noise. [7] He lasted for less than a week before administrators pulled his privileges after the death of a patient, Floella Brown, and the maiming of another, Mary Efurd. When he finally came to the hospital, he busied himself with another patient, also on the DA's list, Mary Efurd. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. School librarian Kellie Martin, 55, died during a routine back operation after Duntsch punctured a blood vessel. The real question is:Why couldn't anyone stop him in time? On July 24, 2012, Duntsch operated on Floella Brown, 64, a banker about to retire after a long career. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. Will it help patients protect their rights? It took the Texas Medical Board one whole year to investigate and finally revoke Duntsch's license. He later appealed his case, but lost when his conviction was upheld 2-1 in the Fifth District Court of Appeals . Joshua Jackson, who plays Duntsch, and AnnaSophia Robb, who plays assistant district attorney Michelle Shughart, the real-life prosecutor responsible for putting Duntsch behind bars, spoke with The Wrap about why they think Dr. Death did it. Death showrunner Patrick McManus told, It was as if he knew everything to do, Henderson, (played by Alec Baldwin in the Peacock series) told. It stars Joshua Jackson as Duntsch, and it will also feature Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin.. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) [1] is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death [2] for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. She, after being in Duntsch's OR, would never walk again. I think everybody in the OR became pretty concerned because Dr. Duntsch was pulling a lot of muscle tissue out of Jerrys neck and there was just a lot of bleeding, Shughart, (portrayed in the series byAnnaSophia Robb), said of the surgery. The hospital also instructed Duntsch to only perform minor procedures, but his next surgery had an even more catastrophic outcome. [4] Mayfield died of COVID-19 in February 2021; according to his wife, he had been vulnerable to the virus due to complications caused by Duntsch's botched surgeries. He was nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients and killing two of them while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. [4] In an article for The Texas Prosecutor, the journal of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, Shughart and the other members of the trial team recalled that their superiors were initially skeptical when they presented the case, but eventually found themselves in "overwhelming disbelief" that a surgeon could do what Duntsch was accused of doing. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? | The US Sun - The Sun After learning thatDuntsch had continued to botch procedures at other facilities, Kirby packaged up a review of five of his cases and sent a desperate plea to the medical board. As a result, Duntsch was removed from his role as founder, president, and chief science officer at DiscGenics, Inc., as well as his seat on the board. 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. They go, We met the funniest, funniest doctor in Newport Beach,' the newlywed surgeon once shared. [7], Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he was likely to hurt others unless he changed his approach, and that his failure to learn from his past mistakes demonstrated that his maiming of Efurd was intentional. ), As Dr. As is the case with programs based on real events, Peacocks Dr. "[4] The Texas Medical Board revoked Duntsch's license on December 6, 2013. Duntsch wrote that he accepted he was a cold-blooded killer. Peacocks Free tier includes 7,500 hours of ad-supported programming, including next-day access to episodes of first-year NBC shows, as well as a rotating lineup of classic films and television series. To say that this e-mail proved that Duntsch was notfit to be a doctor would be completely correct. Martin paid with her lifebecause her doctor was too proud to say he screwed up. Did these doctors truly not see though Duntsch? Theres blood on a lot of peoples hands, Kay Van Wey, a personal injury lawyer representing some of Duntschs former patients, told American Greed. Many of the decisions that were made in this case by multiple people along the line who had the moral obligation to do the right thing, their decision making was colored and tainted by financial considerations and that is just wrong on every level that I can imagine., Or as the final title card of Dr. Death reads, "This will happen again.". Thats almost like, Hey, lets just see what happens. So I just dont know.. The Texas Medical Board launched an investigation and found that Duntsch was performing unnecessary and risky procedures on his patients without informing them of the potential risks and complications. 33 of his 37 surgeries were botched, with two dead and 31 injured for life. Mary Efurd was one of these victims; she underwent surgery to treat her back pain in July 2012 but instead suffered an irreparable spinal cord injury that left her permanently paralyzed from the neck down. Becker's Hospital Review covered the 13 worst physicians of 2017, as named by Medscape. In 2017, he was convicted on five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and sentenced to life in prison. "[3] A neurosurgery expert for Duntsch's defense team himself said, "The conditions which created Dr.Duntsch still exist, thereby making it possible for another to come along. An Analysis of Christopher Duntsch, 'Dr. Death', Surgery Records The information it tracks, includingmalpractice payouts and suspensions, is available only to hospital administrators, not doctors or patients. As the trial team put it, the "scary pattern" of Duntsch's actions became apparent to the others in the office, leading the DA to give the green light to take the case to a grand jury. While the school refused to verify or deny his claims, he wasn't in any of the yearbooks of that time. The Incredible Genetic Trait Childbearing Hips. After this late-night party,Duntsch went to work the next morning. The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education has strict rules about residency programs. Peacock is free as a bird. And you are one of the lucky ones." The fault also lies with the Texas law. Duntsch jumped from hospital to hospital, none of which reported his botched procedures to a national database of physicians designed to protect against such instances. Per Bustle, Christopher is currently incarcerated at O.B. Death showrunner] says this all the time, if he had taken a right instead of a left, if he had done strictly research and not gone into surgery, would any of this have happened? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2012-2023 On Secret Hunt - All Rights Reserved However, he closed Glidewell with the sponge in place despite others in the operating room warning him about it. When he finally turned up again, he was made to attended a program for impaired physicians. She was deposed over Skype since, at the time, she was stationed with the Air Force in the Middle East. The civil attorneys in these cases were able to land a rather damning e-mail sent from Duntsch to his girlfriend/physical assistant.The girlfriend was Kimberly Morgan, and in the e-mail to her, the ramblings of a mind gone wrong are clear. The True Story Behind Peacock's 'Dr. Death' | Time But was he just an inadequate addict? He then prescribed Muse so much Percocet that a pharmacist refused to fill the prescription. According to Rosenblum, Jerry Summers had forgiven Chris Duntsch several years prior to his death. The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. In it,was a mirror with cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. After a lengthy investigation by the Texas Medical Board and the Dallas County District Attorneys Office, Dr. Duntsch was arrested on August 19th, 2015 and charged with five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. After hearing about the shocking death, vascular surgeon Dr. Randall Kirby (portrayed in the series by Christian Slater) reported Duntsch to the Texas Medical Board. Gena Lee Nolin: From Baywatchs Neely to Sheenas Queen! He promises to take all pain and suffering away. He decided to turn to neurosurgery, which can be a lucrative field. He has also worked as a radio reporter and holds a degree from Moody College of Communication. His best friend Jerry Summers (played by Dominic Burgess) was left a. And the biggest question on everyones mind is why Dr. Death did it. Then, we were reminded once again of the deadly doctor's acts in the Peacock miniseries, Dr. Death, starring Joshua Jackson as the title character. [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. [46], Dr. Death, a TV mini-series based on the podcast, began streaming on Peacock on July 15, 2021. But with that terrifying track record, how was he able to continue to operate? Now keep in mind, Morgan herself was at the wrong end of some of these suits. Chris Duntsch left DiscGenics after being sued by the companys former Chief Operating Officer in 2011. He later told Glidewell that it was clear Duntsch had tried to kill him. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. [9][24][19][7] After several days, Kirby was brought in to repair the damage and later described what he found after opening Glidewell back up as the work of a "crazed maniac". Duntschs case also caught the eye of Dallas County prosecutors, who charged the surgeon with injuring an elderly patient in connection with Efurds case.