Becker's Hospital Review covered the 13 worst physicians of 2017, as named by Medscape. Duntsch pleaded not guilty. In reality, he makes everything so, so much worse. In one particularly disturbing episode, in March 2015, she said she arrived home to her front door had been locked with a deadbolt from the inside. We ended up getting into this really big fight, and he slapped me and threw a remote and hit me with the remotes and he was yelling profanities very loud where everyone could hear and saying prostitute and whore, she said, adding he also started calling her mother names. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. Santa Clarita Diet's Dominic Burgess plays Jerry Summers, a former patient and best friend of Dr Death's. It was the same with Dallas Medical Center where hedid not face any action. In July 2015, indictments came through. Duntsch has a court date next month for the shoplifting case along with the unrelated matter of a criminal trespass complaint filed against him last fall. AnnaSophia Robb, 27, portrays Michelle Shughart, the assistant district attorney on Dr. Death's case. What isscarierare the 12 names that follow his. He broke into her home a second time in the incident where he was covered in blood and also allegedly began harassing personal injury attorney Kay Van Wey, who represented many of his former patients, in a series of rambling emails. Peacock's new grisly drama tells the real-life story of Dallas-area neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who killed or maimed more than 30 patients in the 2010s. But she smiles softly as she talks about those early days with Duntsch, when they were still learning about each others lives. She fell pregnant with their first son, Aiden, not long after that. For the DA though she proved to be a good witness. According to court documents, Rimlawi soon grew suspicious of Duntsch. The hospital saved face and avoided any lawsuits. By 2011, Duntsch had been sued by Discgenics former chief operating officer, a high school pal who joined when it was founded. That was the same month the two started having sex. Soon though, red flags began to pop up. And not just Dallas CountyI dont recall hearing about it anywhere.. Or was Duntsch just good at hiding his true self? Anton Floquet/NBCUniversal, I knocked on my door. In 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty. Year: 2004-2018 Starring: Michael Peterson Genre: Docuseries Rating: TV-MA Seasons: 1 (14 episodes) Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade Trailer: Watch here This doesn . In the two years he practiced as a spine surgeon across four Dallas institutions, Duntsch operated on 37 people. A few months after the shoplifting arrest, Duntsch was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault and injuring an elderly person for the damage he did on the operating table. Why else would his daughter have sent Duntsch a card thanking him? The other, Discgenics, was more successful; it still owns the patent for the technology. He says he showed the postoperative imaging to 16 radiologists over six months, all of whom said Morguloff was normal. Christopher Duntsch, Known As Dr. Death, Maimed His Patients Through Routine Back Surgery. He was shocked at the CT scan: the spinal fusion hardware sat in her soft tissue. Duntsch declined a jailhouse interview, but he has called the allegations preposterous. Before he cheated, before he lied. Passmore later learned that a ligament in his leg had been severed. The operation continued. Now, one of the several complaints against the . The encounter was just one of a series of troubling incidents after Duntschwho once referred to himself as a mixture of God, Einstein and the Antichristlost his medical license in December of 2013 for leaving numerouspatients either maimed, in agonizing chronic pain, or, in two cases, dead. Instead, he thought about all those years he spent working and educating himself, all those years of paying bills on time to keep his credit high, of saving money to support his family. Around that same time, Duntschs behavior was becoming erratic. But hospital after hospital passed the buck. If he could do 50Shades of Grey and some scandalous modeling, playing a menacing Dr. Death should be a piece of cake, right? [7] Jackson stars as Christopher Duntsch, the titular nicknamed neurosurgeon, in Peacock's limited series based on the Wondery podcast of the same name (and of course the real-life former doctor's . But that isn't the scariest part. One of the early investors in Duntsch's company Discgenics was Dr. Rand Page. Lawsuits can cost hospitals millions of dollars and lost credibility, making it easier just tofire the offending doctor. His fellow neurosurgeons found him to be fast-talking and cocksure, a bit of a loner. Morgan says they spent a lot of time in clubs. Many shake and tremble, some have unimaginable pain. Duntsch had been suspended from operations . I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, Wendy Young said of the harrowing alleged encounter with Christopher Duntsch. He had a lot of animus to me personally. On July 1, 2011, Duntsch and Baylor Plano agreed to an inducement deal. Passmore is still fighting. As these cases became public record, rumors circulated of late-night partying leading into early-morning rounds, and whispers of drug and alcohol abuse became shouts. This despite the drug problems as well as incomplete residency training. This was the time when Dr. Christopher Duntsch started to turn intoDr. Death. She assumed Morgan was only helping with research. He didnt contact a lawyer, although he wrestled with the decision. Over the course of 18-months, the nefarious ex-surgeon performed a spree of botched. The 43-year-old new dad, who welcomed his first child with wife Jodie Turner-Smith last year, brought his WB experience to portray the charming aspect of the surgeon, as the other characters often call him on the show. Duntsch was also arrested for driving under the influence while staying with his parents in Colorado and found himself in handcuffs another time in April of 2015 after he was arrested for stealing $887.30 in Walmart merchandise, according to the D Magazine. Beil is a journalist who has specialized in science and medical writing for 20 years, and lives in the Dallas area where much of Christopher Duntsch's story takes place. His mom was a teacher. St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital at that time. Duntsch also received 40 percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. Duntsch made a major miscalculation when he ventured south into Dallas to practice. At this point, Ive had enough and so I called the police.. I am beginning to think the police are the only ones intellectually and physically capable of getting to the bottom of this matter, he wrote. Christopher Duntschs case is perhaps unique to the justice systemits incredibly rare for a surgeon to be indicted, much less convicted, for the care he or she provided. Base compensation was $600,000 a year for two years, beginning on June 14, 2011. 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. In her deposition, Morgan said Baylor Plano President Jerri Garison called both of them to her office and told them what Summers had said. Jurors convicted Duntsch Tuesday of injury to an elderly person in the botched July 2012 surgery that put Mary Efurd in a wheelchair. Duntschs patient outcomes would draw lots of attention over the years. Plano surgeon Christopher Duntsch left a trail of bodies. It's thrilling if uncomfortable to listen. She was also present for Summers operation. Theres no blank here for that.. During Brown's surgery, Duntsch pierced her vertebral artery. They described him as the bright, precocious little boy who had taken. He wears a gray-and-black-striped uniform, not unlike a set of scrubs. Yet they let him resign and passed the bill along for someone else to pay. But Young said Duntsch wasnt happy at the news of another baby and the couple got into a heated argument, during which Duntsch admitted to seeing other women. Multiple lawsuits allege that Baylor did not report Duntsch to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which was created by Congress to be a private clearinghouse of physicians who have been suspended or had their privileges revoked. At the time, Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before the Texas Medical Board revoked his license. According to Dallas Magazine, Dr. Christopher Duntsch talked a big game. His pain management specialist advised against an operation. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. In it,was a mirror with cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. Young was 27 when they met; Duntsch was 40. After this late-night party,Duntsch went to work the next morning. It was a revision of a patient whom he originally operated on at Baylor Plano. I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer. According to Irving-based physician recruitment firm Merritt Hawkins, a single neurosurgeon produced his or her hospital an average revenue of $2.45 million in 2015. Like Summers, Floella Browns vertebral artery was damaged, causing massive bleeding. They'd requested an investigation into his matter, deeming him to be a threat to the general public. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer.. The damage is irreversible. He seemed really distraught and I was scared, she said of the father of her two children. When the Texas Medical Board revoked his license, Duntsch's reign of surgical terror had run its course. Christopher Duntsch was an American doctor and specialized as a spinal surgeona deadly spinal surgeonwho killed three of his patients and maimed 31 others during a two-year span. Duntsch had allegedly tried to steal the pair of pants by changing into the new pair in a Wal-Mart dressing room and placing his own pants into the shopping cart. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. According to Dallas Magazine, Dr. Christopher Duntsch talked a big game. In October 2011, she registered articles of incorporation to form Duntschs practice, the Texas Neurosurgical Institute. He was constantly involved in research, and, around 2006, he saw a way to commercialize discoveries by renowned Russian stem cell scientists Valery Kukekov and Tatyana Ignatova, a husband-and-wife team. Patrick Clerkin, a longtime friend, stopped at the doorway with his two kids as well as Passmores 7- and 9-year-old girls. Joshua Jackson stars as Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a twisted neurosurgeon who goes on a malpractice rampage in the halls of the hospitals that are inattentive and neglectful enough to employ him . Hoyles job was to cut Passmore open and sew him up, and on December 30, 2011, he made a small incision just above the 36-year-olds groin and moved the blood vessels and organs out of the way, allowing Duntsch clear access to the lower spine to remove a herniated disc. While Ignatova and Kukekov say they were in the labs, Duntsch focused on raising money. Young said Duntschfollowed her and told her he could explain the bizarre scene. Their suffering becomes yours. The evidence collected by the DA's office by subpoenaing every hospital on his CVshows Duntsch completes a fraction of these. Famously known by the Family name Christopher Daniel Duntsch, is a great neurosurgeon and convicted criminal for malpractice.He was born on April 3, 1971, in Montana. That only lasted for a short while, as he dove deep into the role to bring out the evil of the real-life character in the eight-episode series, he told New York Post. Dr. Christopher Duntsch, better known as Doctor Death, is serving a life sentence at a Texas prison today. Passmore also learned about Kenneth Fennell, a 68-year-old who alleged in a lawsuit that, during a November procedure, Duntsch operated on the wrong body part. Duntsch could have turned it into something good and meaningful. We talked about marriage pretty quickly. He promises to take all pain and suffering away. There was Floella Brown, whose sliced vertebral artery triggered the stroke that killed her at Dallas Medical Center. When he finally turned up again, he was made to attended a program for impaired physicians. In the months following his surgery, Passmore focused on recovery and getting back to work. For Duntsch, the path into medicine was unconventional and, perhaps, a reflection of his tendency to fixate on unlikely goals. She didnt think much of it at first. Duntsch allegedly performed the operation and flew out to Las Vegas without securing a call physician. What made him cause damage, trauma and even death to his patients? There is no way to communicate what happened there, without a 20-page document of disclosures and events and responsible parties, Duntsch once wrote of Brown and Efurd. She describes investigators with binoculars camped out on their street in a white van, trying to see into their home. Within months, she says, he had offers in Dallas, San Diego, and New York. He did earnhis M.D., doing so well that he was among the 12 percent of medical school graduates in his class named to the elite Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Attorney James Girards was representing Lee Passmore, one of Duntsch's victims and reached out to her. Henderson was brought in to operate two days later. Morgan was present in the operating room during Passmores surgery. The fault also lies with the Texas law. Nobody can recognize whether it was ours or not! Ignatova says. You know, hell call and say goodnight to his boys, um, sometimes hell have bedtime stories and try to be as normal as possible.. It was a downward spiral pretty rapidly after he lost his license, Young said in the docuseries. Duntschcrammed a surgical sponge into the wound, then sewed it up. During the 45-minute surgery, Duntsch cut through one of Martin's arteries. I'd call him a sociopath." By the time the Dallas County district attorney's office got involved and brought criminal charges against. One surgeon described these as never events. They shouldnt ever happen in someones entire career. July 19, 2021 The former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was finally brought to justice after injuring and maiming over 30 of his patients during surgery and allegedly causing the deaths of two more. Duntsch was taken to jail for what Young referred to as a time out but his erratic behavior wouldnt end there. He works out, he reads, he studies the Bible. He has a job inside the prison. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. To be a good doctor, you have to be a good human being. The full story of Duntsch's actions can be read in Matt Goodman's D Magazine feature from 2016, when the magazine first coined him "Dr. Death.". The Texas DA chose six patients to make their case to the jury: Lee Passmore, Barry Morguloff, Jerry Summers, Kellie Martin, Floella Brown, and Mary Efurd. She enlisted Duntsch to help fix it. Or at least a morally upright one. I thought it was pretty amazing that he was even able to go to work the next day, she said in the deposition. Dr. Christopher Duntsch When he moved to Dallas in late 2010, Duntsch was 41 years old, fresh out of a residency program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Department of. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 28, 2021 He gained experience writing grants, and earned more than $3 million in local, state, and federal funding for research projects where he served as principal or co-principal investigator. A grand jury returned five indictments of aggravated assault and one of harming an elderly person. Britney Spears claims she was 'scared of drunk dad Jamie' & family 'abandoned her to stay in beach house SHE bought', RHOBH's Erika Jayne breaks down in tears & admits she's 'lonely' after friends 'turned on her' when she went 'broke', Kendall Jenner stuns in an all-black gothic look for glam new photoshoot, Russell Brand defends his dog after pooch mauled wallaby to death on walk, Why odd double act Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss are in fact a perfect match, Teen Mom Leah Messer shows stretch marks on tummy after giving birth to three kids & reveals if she'll get a tummy tuck, Duntsch, 50, was convicted of a first-degree felony. Duntsch had moved from the W to Hotel Zaza and then, finally, to a five-bedroom house not far from the hospital. Nobody stopped him soon enough. On paper, the 40-year-old man who arrived in Dallas in the summer of 2011 was a completely different Christopher Duntsch than the one who was introduced to the public after more than a dozen. Around May 2013, Henderson got a call from Foley, the fellowship supervisor. She says she didnt hear or see any altercation between Duntsch and Mark Hoyleher view was blocked by a microscope, and the combined hum of the EKG machine and the oxygen cylinder drowned out the sound of Hoyles pleading, if there was any. "Dr. Death," which was shot earlier this year in the Albuquerque area and debuted July 15 on the Peacock streaming service, is the story of Christopher Duntsch, who is now serving a life sentence . His mom was a teacher. (Neither responded to requests for comment for this story.) He said somebody had been there and they had hit him on the head, she said. But for his victims, the judgment was a big relief. But the unexpected reunion wasnt a happy one. Martin was his first patient back, and it was the last operation he performed at that hospital. They numbed the pain radiating from his lower back, down each of his legs. Likely due to Duntsch'sattemptto staunch the blood loss, Brown suffered a buildup of pressure in her brain. Duntsch also said he was prepared to embrace the very darkest part of himself. His CV proclaims that he earned a doctorate in microbiology from the prestigious St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, graduating summa cum laude. But its the only way to get anybody to listen. We certainly would not knowingly allow one person to compromise the level of quality care that we have worked so hard and invested so much to achieve for our patients and our community.. Morgan didnt follow Duntsch after Baylor Plano. She was a National . Kukekov had discovered stem cells in human brain tumors, which presented a huge potential for the development of new cancer drugs. In Dallas, Duntsch developed a reputation of frequenting upscale bars and hotels where he partied with his lifelong best friend and personal assistant, Jerry Summers. Preston was born in September 2014 while she was living with her sister in Garland, Texas. He said, Its not your case, its another case, and were looking into it. I trust that man wholly. But, he says, It all started coming together in my head that this isnt a one-time mistake.. She also never reported Duntsch up the ladder. Her body was in the Collin County Medical Examiners office in March 2012. Duntsch landed in jail on a $600,000 bond and waited for the trial to begin. His investors took him to court. NovoStem Therapeutics, which attempted to monetize the cancer stem cell discovery, failed after taking a funding hit during the 2008 recession. Talking to the Dallas Morning News in 2014, Duntsch said he provided the test and was clean. He was the eldest of four. Like Dr Henderson, Dr Kirby is still a practicing doctor in real life. The eight-part series tells the harrowing true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch who, across two years, injured 32 of his 38 patients. Young and Duntsch have two sons. Sproles issued a letter to Duntsch that read: There have been no summary or administrative restrictions or suspensions of Dr. Duntschs Medical Staff membership or clinical privileges during the time he has practiced at Baylor Reg. A bold pronouncement, yet after just one sloppy, dangerous surgery, Hoyle vowednever to work with Duntsch again. She worked with Dr Henderson and Dr Kirby to bring Duntsch to justice, talking to everyone from his life, both from after he became a doctor and from when he was still training to be one. The Dallas County DA, along with fighting against these very laws, was also running out of time. Because how can I do anything I want and cross every discipline boundary like its [sic] a playground and never ever lose., Duntsch also said he was prepared to embrace the very darkest part of himself. He harmed the very people who trusted him. Young puts Morgan there, too, although Morgan denied it in her deposition. We are committed to achieving this mission by delivering high-quality products that meet or exceed customer requirements. ( Source : instagram ) Young is also the mother of another child with her new boyfriend. Christopher Duntsch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. Beil's somber reporting on the Wondery podcast titled Dr. Death will send chills down your spine. There are some who believe that he never wanted to be in the ORat all. He later told Duntsch to his face that he was dangerous. That July, Duntsch was firing off panicked emails to his business partners at 4 am on a Monday morning: My reputation has been ruined, he wrote. I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, she said in the docuseries. An incredibly difficult thing to prove. Kane dated Summers for a year. Hoyle called the whole surgery sloppy, enough so that he canceled the remaining three or four operations he had scheduled with Duntsch and vowed never to work with him again. Later, he filed for bankruptcy and moved in with his parents in Colorado. The deal required Duntsch to gain privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. Foley said Duntsch was satisfactory in his fellowship, that he saw no evidence of the things he was accused of in Dallas happening in Memphis. An "In Memoriam" tribute for him is shown at the end of the final episode of the Peacock series. While applying to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, TX, Duntsch also provided Dr. Jon Robertson as a reference. After his arrest, he still had those loving parents. They lived in a future colleagues condo at the W Hotel while they looked for a home in Plano, close to where Duntsch would be practicing. She also says they snorted cocaine from a small pile that he kept on a dresser in his home office. Dawsons Creek heartthrob Jackson stars as the titular character of Dr Death, which ended up becoming Duntschs nickname after the accusations came out. He stayed at the University of Tennessee for his surgical residency, spending the standard five years on neurosurgery and one year learning general surgery.