He was fired and failed to report it, the NMMB found, in addition to failing to maintain complete and accurate medical records for his patients. Every patient that I interviewed told me that one of the first things Dr. Duntsch would tell them when they initially met was that he was the best surgeon in Dallas., Says Kirby: I wouldnt call him a psychopath, because psychopaths are usually deliberate and theyre organized. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. What is the current COVID risk in your county? The board said it had not gone the extra step to post information online because it would be staff and time intensive.. It had circulated that he had operated on a good friend of his and made him into a quadriplegic, Henderson tells PEOPLE. It was then, according to ProPublica, that he started focusing on the medical field. The two-year license registration timeframe for reporting is in state law, a TMB spokesperson said. Another, Kellie Martin, bled to death after a botched procedure. INRAE center Clermont-Auvergne-Rhne-Alpes Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Most state medical boards across the country, including Texas, provide incomplete information about a physicians practicing history, according to a report released last month by the Patient Safety Action Network, a national advocacy group. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Sign Up for Daily News & Breaking News Newsletters, Sign up for Digging Deep: Inside KXAN Investigates newsletter. Praised for her handling of an incredibly complex topic, her successful integration of Kirby and Henderson into the prosecution paved the way for the successful conviction of Duntsch. AncientFaces is a 100% free and family-friendly community to share memories and connect with others to discover more about Uncovering Our Shared Memories: An Introduction to the Community Standards at AncientFaces Dr. Robert Henderson was a veteran spinal surgeon in Dallas when he got an unusual phone call from a local hospital: a new surgeon had operated so poorly that a patient who'd walked in on her own two feet now couldn't even wiggle her toes. In 1975, at the age of 29 years old, Andr was alive when on September 5th, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme tried to assassinate President Ford in Sacramento, California. Dr Death, a new show coming to Peacock on Thursday (15 July), is based on the real-life story of Christopher Duntsch, a former neurosurgeon who was as one ProPublica headline famously put it so bad it was criminal. In a July 15 bonus episode of the Dr. Death podcast featuring. In 1946, in the year that Andr Ren Roussimoff was born, on July 4th, the Philippines gained independence from the United States. Duntsch was not tried on criminal charges until 2015. The average age of Dr. Henderson had seen a lot, but he wasn't prepared for this. The series stars The Affair's Joshua Jackson as neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch, who is currently serving a life sentence for intentionally maiming patients. KXAN compared the TMBs two-year reporting requirement to 10 other states including Florida, New York, California and Colorado. Death' Surgeon Killed or Maimed 33 of His Patients Now His Victims Are Speaking Out, 'Grey's Anatomy' : How Kelly McCreary's Maggie Pierce Left and Which Couple Called It Quits. graduate of UEL, Charles spent several years in corporate analytics roles before committing to pursuing editing full time. While the show features the exes as the parents to one son, they had two kids together in real life. In 2017, Christopher Duntsch was sentenced to life in prison. Critics also state that it is the best offering to date from Peacock, making Dr. Death a significant win for the fledgling streaming service. It was as if he knew everything to do, Henderson told ProPublica of Duntsch, and then hed done virtually everything wrong.. He wanted to go to college and play, and I can recall he was like 180 pounds and said, I need to get to 220 in order to be a linebacker at Colorado or Colorado State.. Duntsch left Dallas Medial Center and suspicions began to be raised by staff members, particularly spine surgeon Robert Henderson, who had been called to carry out Efurd's second round of surgery. Morguloff, too, suffered chronic pain after being operated on by Duntsch. Both Dr. Henderson and Dr. Kirby are still practicing physicians in the Dallas area. Some physicians were disciplined following criminal charges including driving drunk, domestic violence, possession of a controlled substance and operating a firearm while intoxicated, KXAN found. Clinton won 43.01% of the popular vote to Bush's 37.45%. The TMB says its honor-system approach is historically how the board has operated, adding it has always relied on physicians to self-report. Add family and friends whose lives he impacted. When Henderson looked at Efurd's post-operative X-rays and later opened her up for surgery, he was astonished by what he found: misplaced screws, a severed nerve root, and several holes drilled into her spine. Duntschs story was first told in a podcast also titled Dr Death released in September 2018 by Wondery, a studio now owned by Amazon. Texas surgeons Dr. Randall Kirby and Dr. Robert Henderson became convinced that fellow physician Christopher Duntsch was so incompetent it was criminal. An Arkansas doctors medical license was suspended four times, revoked for five years and he was required to participate in multiple substance abuse treatment programs. And to be able to take actions quicker to protect the public.. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? It will not be retroactive, at least for now. Death Series, Dr. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. He would not say if any will face any disciplinary actions for not sharing issues in their pasts. Before being fired for failing to meet standards of care, Duntsch resigned. Summers tragically passed away in early 2021 following an infection connected to his botched surgery. "I felt he was a serial killer and serial maimer. License to Kill debuts on Oxygen on Sunday (7 p.m. ET/PT). She failed when her gun wouldn't fire. He went on to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, completing the MD-Ph.D. and the neurosurgery residency programs. He operated on his own friend and surgically detached his spinal column from the base of his skull, effectively decapitating him and leaving him paralysed from the neck down, GQ listed. A search of the TMBs data portal for the doctors we identified found no record of disciplinary actions or criminal histories from other states. He says the TMB promises patients transparency but fails to deliver. But there are a couple cases on the list where were looking into further., Asked why the board is aware of past disciplinary actions but Texas patients are not, Carlton responded by saying, thats one of the things, starting this year, that we want to start doing.. "He explained to me that he was the best spine surgeon in Dallas," Dr. Kirby said in a 2019 episode of 'License To Kill.' I just did what I thought was right," Henderson, And if you want to dive even deeper into the story, you can also watch the new docuseries. the heart becomes full The patient was put on life support but died, according to the Virginia Medical Board. and Ph.D., even graduating with honors, asreportedD Magazine. Welcome to AncientFaces, a com "Thank you for helping me find my family & friends again so many years after I lost them. Upon leaving, a helicopter collided with a transport plane and the men were killed. Students Suffer. Well, Henderson said, I think the odds of it are pretty darn high.. The TMB checks the NPDB when it is screening new applicants or when it is conducting an investigation on a physician. A man who was a victim of other people's bad work and bad behavior. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Michelle Lee Shughart (played in Dr. DeathbyAnnaSophia Robb) was a young assistant district attorney when she became involved in the Duntsch case. The Biography section is collaborative, where we work together to present the facts. "The embarrassment is just going to keep growing over this," Laura Harth, the campaign director at Safeguard Defenders, told Newsweek. a But it wasn't enough. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Ultimately, 31 . They also blamed his actions on poor medical training and lack of oversight at the hospitals where he worked.