After this look at Christopher Duntsch a.k.a. Where is Christopher Duntsch AKA Dr. Death now? 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 "malice"that is, the hospital knew of the extreme risk and ignored itin credentialing a doctor. Dr. Death in surgery. Dr. Having exhausted his football eligibility, Duntsch decided to switch to a career in medicine. When Duntsch finally returned on Monday, he was fired. [16][24] Henderson described Duntsch's surgery as an "assault", and concluded that Efurd would have been bedridden had the salvage surgery not been performed. He proved to be Duntsch's last surgery; University General pushed him out soon afterward. [4], Early in his tenure at Baylor Plano, Duntsch made a poor impression on his fellow surgeons. He died in 2021 of an infection related to complications from Duntsch's operation. The television series Dr. Death based on the incident, began streaming on Peacock in July 2021. It was determined during the repair surgery that Dr. Duntsch had not even been operating on the correct part of Jeff Glidewell's spine. Evil Lives Here: Shadows Of Death is investigating the numerous crimes of former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, who was nicknamed Dr. Death after causing pain, suffering, and even death to multiple patients over the course of two years. "[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. 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 . 11:15 PM on Mar 1, 2014 CST. He graduated from a top-tier medical school, was running research labs, and completed a residency program for neurosurgery. Unfortunately, when Morguloff woke up, he began to experience continuous pain, paresthesia, and loss of sensation in his left leg. Duntsch, once a neurosurgeon, is the focal point of the new streaming Peacock docuseries "Dr. Death." D Magazine gave him the nickname in its reporting in 2016. "[45], Wondery Media launched a ten-episode podcast series named Dr. Death, focusing on Duntsch. Death' found guilty of maiming woman during surgery", "Former neurosurgeon sentenced for purposely maiming patients", "Doctor convicted of botched surgery gets life in prison", "Christopher Daniel Duntsch v. The State of Texas Appeal from Criminal District Court No. They didn't have enough evidence to stop him because he hadn't done anything wrong yet. His resume looked brilliant on paper," journalistMatt Goodman said of Christopher Duntsch's ability to continue to gain employment at Texas hospitals despite a deadly track record. He was told he would never be able to walk again. Legacy Surgery Center in Frisco (now Frisco Ambulatory Surgery Center). Duntsch is the first physician sentenced to life in prison for his actions while practicing medicine. Shughart countered that the 2011 email, sent after his first surgeries went wrong, proved that Duntsch knew his actions were intentional. Before he was "Dr. Death" on Wondery's hit 2018 podcast, disgraced former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was a student at Colorado State University. She was left with just one vocal cord. South Hampton Community Hospital in Dallas (now University General Hospital). Kane also recalled a cocaine- and LSD-fueled night of partying between her, her ex-boyfriend, and Duntsch where, after the end of their all-night party, she saw Duntsch put on his lab coat and go to work. His older son had been born back when he was at Baylor Plano. Could you take care of it?" All the while, the operating room staff questioned whether Duntsch was putting hardware into Efurd in the right places and noticed he kept drilling and removing screws. The problem was that Dallas Medical Center did not perform those or even have the proper equipment to do them. 'Hot TikTok doc' urges young people to get jabbed - warning of dangers of long Covid, Daughter, 39, guilty of stabbing mum to death before setting house on fire and dumping her dismembered body in river, Pregnant beautician loses baby after savage beating by monster husband who kidnapped her amid divorce row, Shocking moment man is crushed to death by an enraged elephant after crowd taunts herd of jumbos. The surgery was scheduled for December 30, 2011. [7] He likened what he found when he opened Efurd up to the results of a child playing with Tinkertoys or an erector set. Immediately, he started yelling and cussing at me, saying, 'How dare you? One of the patients who suffered disastrous consequences was Jerry Summers, the boyfriend of Megan Kane and a friend of Christopher Duntsch. 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. (Dallas County Jail via AP) Gift Article. He's serving a life sentence for gross malpractice that resulted in two direct fatalities and the maiming of more than 30 neurosurgery patients, as told by Laura Beil, the journalist who hosts the Dr. Death podcast, on which the eponymous show is based. Baylor suspended Duntsch, pictured, for a month. "Based on a hit podcast and inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a young and charismatic star in the Texas medical community," Peacock explains about the series. D Magazine gave him the nickname in . Jodi Smith. Christopher Duntsch wrote that he was ready to become a "cold blooded killer". [48], In 2019, Duntsch was the focus of the premiere episode of License to Kill, Oxygen's series on criminal medical professionals. Kenneth Fennell, the first patient Duntsch operated on at Baylor Plano, was left with chronic pain after Duntsch operated on the wrong part of his back. "[20][4] Under heavy lobbying from Kirby and Henderson, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013. Jerry Summers believed that his best friend Christopher Duntsch was a talented neurosurgeon who would cure his chronic neck pain. Film & TV 'Dr. Death' Condemns Christopher Duntsch, but the Real Culprit Is Texas's Broken Health-Care System I helped break the story on the convicted surgeon, but Peacock's dramatized . The series is set to premiere on July 12 and will feature a star-studded cast. One of the early investors in DiscGenics, Rand Page, said Duntsch would be mixing a vodka orange juice during their morning meetings. Troy was left barely able to speak above a whisper, had to be sedated for weeks and had to be fed through a feeding tube for some time as food was getting into her lungs. Though he appealed his conviction in 2018, it was denied. Trusty was never told she was participating in an infomercial and believed Duntsch had been selected as the top neurosurgeon in Dallas and was participating in a video about the award. When he woke up, he was a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis. He declared bankruptcy after listing debts of over $1 million. [6], Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. Floella Brown went under Dr. Deaths knife in July 2012 and shortly after her surgery, she suffered a massive stroke caused by Duntsch slicing her vertebral artery during surgery. Over this period, Duntsch performed back surgeries that left his patients in a worse condition, paralyzed, or deceased. However, Baylor did not fire him; instead, he was allowed to resign. He thought it was odd that Duntsch wasn't working at Baylor Plano anymore, so he called his insurance company, who stated Christopher Duntsch was in good standing. Fennell required months of rehabilitation to be able to walk with a cane, and was left unable to walk for more than 30 feet or stand for more than a few minutes without having to sit down again. [18] He damaged patient Philip Mayfield's spinal cord, drilling into it and leaving him partially paralyzed from the neck down. Christopher Duntsch was born in Montana and spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tennessee. As part of their investigation, prosecutors obtained a December 2011 email written by Christopher Duntsch. Duntsch, who had been listed as the founder, president & chief science officer, was being sued by the former chief operating officer and was dismissed from his roles and seat on the board. After his license was revoked,Duntsch fled from Texas. executive producer explains how Christopher Duntsch could have avoided prison. Dr. Duntsch came from a good family and showed considerable potential at medical school. In July 2015, Duntsch was arrested in Dallas and charged with six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of aggravated assault causing severe bodily injury, and one count of injury to an elderly person. Morgan didn't follow Duntsch after he left, however. [4], Longtime spine surgeon Robert Henderson performed the salvage surgery on Efurd. So as Duntsch operated on Efurd, he quarreled with Kissinger and his supervisors, insisting on a craniotomy for Brown. However, red flags surfaced early on, as nurses wondered if Duntsch was under the influence of drugs while on duty. Updated Dec 9, 2022 at 3:25pm. He Was Also His Victim. Christopher Duntsch was just a regular guy who became Dr. Death after he decided to be a neurosurgeon. [38], Duntsch is housed at the O. However, on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Dr. Duntsch performed another operation on Passmore. She came in to have two vertebrae fused, but when she woke up she experienced severe pain and couldnt stand. Christopher Daniel Duntsch (born April 3, 1971) is a former American neurosurgeon who has been nicknamed Dr. D. and Dr. Death for gross malpractice resulting in the maiming of several patients' spines and two deaths while working at hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.. Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the . If you had back pain, and had tried everything else, Dr. Duntsch could give you the spine surgery that would take your pain away. This case was filed in Dallas County District Courts, Dallas County Civil District Courts located in Dallas, Texas. Convinced that he was a clear and present danger to the public, they urged the Dallas County district attorney's office to pursue criminal charges. Summers had a credit card in his name connected to Duntsch's account and would drive him around, balance his checkbooks, and pick up his dry cleaning. Christopher Duntsch, 44, faces up to life in prison if convicted. The charismatic neurosurgeon was actually a successful researcher before he starting killing people in the operating . Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. During this time, he ran two successful labs and raised millions of dollars in grant funding. In September 2012, Jeff Cheney went to Duntsch to relieve the pain that had moved from his shoulder down to his arm. He refused to abort the surgery even after a trauma surgeon colleague and an anesthesiologist warned him about the blood loss. He called Duntsch's fellowship supervisor in Memphis and the supervisor of Duntsch's residency; it was then that he learned about the incident that led him to be referred to the impaired physician program. Dr Death, un nuevo programa que llegar a Peacock el jueves (15 de julio), se basa en la historia de la vida real de Christopher Duntsch, un ex neurocirujano que era, como dijo un famoso titular de ProPublica, "tan malo que era criminal".. Joshua Jackson interpreta a Duntsch, que ahora tiene 50 aos y cumple cadena perpetua despus de ser condenado en 2017 por mutilar a uno de sus . The hospital initiated another peer review, but Duntsch resigned rather than face certain termination. 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. I left with him and believed in him and then, you know, he just kind of fell apart.. He moved in with his parents in Colorado and filed for bankruptcy, claiming around one million dollars in debt. [7] While operating on Jacqueline Troy, Duntsch cut one of her vocal cords and an artery and also damaged her trachea. 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. The hospital hired him and granted him temporary surgical privileges until his reference checks were completed. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Dr. Death in surgery. He then prescribed Muse so much Percocet that a pharmacist refused to fill the prescription. To top it all off, he was operating on the wrong portion of her back. [31][16] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. Watch the trailer for Dr . During a deposition, Megan Krane recalled Duntsch eating a paper blotter of LSD and taking prescription painkillers on his birthday. He was left with pain so debilitating he could not work any longer and now spends most of his days at home. DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch has been sentenced to life in prison for a series of botched spinal surgeries, reports CBS . Christopher was raised along with his three younger siblings in a wealthy suburb in Memphis, Tennessee. Then, on July 24, 2012, he operated on Floella Brown. In July 2015, a grand jury indicted Dr. Death on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of harming an elderly person, his patient Mary Efurd, according to Rolling Stone. To see the rest of Dr. Christopher Duntsch's murder and maiming spree, and the fight to stop him, you'll need to purchase Peacock premium. After a fall in her kitchen, Martin experienced chronic back pain and sought out surgery to alleviate it. They talked about marriage quickly, and they moved in together within three months. Boop said that Duntsch spent his final year as an attending physician and could not operate independently. He realized he'd seen that hole for three straight days Duntsch hadn't changed his scrubs all week. Troy was sedated for weeks and forced to eat through a feeding tube because food was getting into her lungs. 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." Cheney recalled wondering why a neurosurgeon with such outstanding credentials would be operating at a lower-tiered hospital on the way to his surgery. After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd, and on February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. He hoped to play football, but his multiple transfers revoked his eligibility. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. Duntsch also removed so much bone and muscle tissue from Summers' neck that his head was no longer secure on his body. Officers said he was driving on the left side of the road with two flat tires. ", "Plano's Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon", "Barry Morguloff's suit against the Baylor Health Care System", "Was Wendy Renee Young Dr. Death's Wife? The board called in veteran neurosurgeon Martin Lazar to review the case. Duntsch focused on his research for a while but was recruited from Memphis to join the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in North Dallas in the summer of 2011. The series peers into the torturous crimes of . The case highlights the risks of allowing a troubled physician to move to another hospital . He is not eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old. The night before his surgery, he read online about Kellie Martin's death just months earlier. Despite all of this, Duntsch was retained by South Hampton when new owners bought it and renamed it University General Hospital. By the end of the week, administrators told Duntsch he would no longer be operating at Dallas Medical Center. Passmore focused on recovery and getting back to work in the months following his surgery. He said even a person with the most basic sense of human anatomy would know they were operating in the wrong area. [9], In March 2014, three former patients of Duntsch's Mary Efurd, Kenneth Fennel, and Lee Passmore filed separate federal lawsuits against Baylor Plano, alleging the hospital allowed Duntsch to perform surgeries despite knowing that he was a dangerous physician. Then came the fax, and he saw Duntsch's name next to Kellie Martin's. When Kirby learned the details, he immediately asked the doctor who referred the case to him about the surgeon: "Is it a guy named Christopher Duntsch?" In January 2013, Kenneth Fennell was scheduled for another operation because he was still experiencing extreme pain in his back. In March, the following spring, police were called to a bank in Northeast Dallas after a man with blood on his hands and face was seen beating on the doors. Unfortunately, when Fennell woke up from surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down. [19] Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again. [4], After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd. [16] Kirby also recalled that Duntsch's skills in the operating room left much to be desired; as Kirby put it, "he could not wield a scalpel".[4]. [19][16] Kirby claimed that it looked as if Duntsch had tried to decapitate Glidewell and contended that such a botched surgery "has not happened in the United States of America" before. Shughart argued that Duntsch should have known he would 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. by Saul Elbein. [15], Duntsch joined Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano (now Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Plano) as a minimally invasive spine surgeon with a salary of $600,000 per year, plus bonuses. [14] He persuaded Young to come with him; Young agreed, since she had grown up in the Dallas area.