Baylor Health Care System Faces Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A major medical malpractice lawsuit filed against Baylor Medical Center in Plano alleges that the hospital allowed a neurosurgeon to operate after learning of his history of botched surgeries. The suit claims that neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch had a history of poorly-executed surgical procedures when Baylor Health Care System recruited him in 2011. The suit states that Dr. Duntsch’s surgeries resulted in two fatalities and at least one patient ending up as a quadriplegic.

Botched Surgery Leads to Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

The medical malpractice lawsuit stems from a surgical procedure in which Dr. Duntsch incorrectly installed hardware for a spinal fusion surgery. The improper procedure damaged the patient’s vertebrae and loosened bone fragments into the nerves of the spinal column. The patient claims that the botched surgery resulted in severe nerve damage and near-constant excruciating pain. The patient’s medical malpractice lawsuit is one of at least four suits against Dr. Duntsch and Baylor Health Care System.

Incompetence Revealed by Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Dr. Duntsch came to Dallas in 2010 to start his own neurosurgery practice. An inquiry by the Texas Medical Board showed, in less than three years, at least two patients who had Dr. Duntsch as their surgeon died and another four were paralyzed. Surgeons who participated in the inquiry called him “the worst surgeon I’ve ever seen” and compared him to cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter from the film “The Silence of the Lambs”. Patients and their families who are considering a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Duntsch will likely use his track record and peer reviews as evidence of his incompetence.

Hospital System Targeted in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Dr. Duntsch is not the only target of the patient’s medical malpractice lawsuit. The suit also alleges that Baylor Health Care System and its Plano facility knew of the doctor’s record when the company hired him in 2011. The suit includes a recommendation letter Dr. Duntsch received from Baylor Plano that allowed him to operate at other Dallas-area hospitals, even after one of his surgeries resulted in a fatality and another left a patient paralyzed from the neck down.

Texas Attorney General Joins Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

In this instance, a medical malpractice lawsuit has evolved into a statewide political issue. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, a champion of limiting damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and other tort cases, has come in on the side of the hospital. A federal lawsuit is challenging a state law passed in 2003 that calls on affected patients to prove direct harm, rather than gross negligence, in order to receive a judgment against a hospital. Coincidentally, Abbot himself was the beneficiary of a $10 million personal injury lawsuit in 1984 after a branch from a neighbor’s oak tree left him paralyzed.

Source: Dallas Business Journal

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