Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! But Passmore knows its his battle to fight. You dont get to walk away from two or three years of medical training, in the middle of an internship or a residency, get to take time off and be slotted directly in the position you left in with no questions asked. Christopher Duntsch, 44, faces up to life in prison if convicted. The doctor in the strange case is now 50 years old. The real question is:Can this TV show bring about a change in medical law, or how hospitals treat their patients and doctors? Thats dangerouseven that attitude is dangerous. Duntsch relented, allowing Hoyle to move in, stop the bleeding, and clean out the wound. Brings new meaning to the phrase Sunday Funday. During this time, out of three procedures, one patient died and another was partially paralyzed. That said; the 12 jurors did what the Texas Medical Board should have done. Duntsch soon appeared and tried to calm them, assuring them that Passmore would be fine in one or two days. Dallas Magazine statesthatDuntsch became key in supplying samples to scientists for research. With Ignatova and Kukekov in tow, he filed patents under a company he founded. Duntsch landed in jail on a $600,000 bond and waited for the trial to begin. Soon, when Duntsch was requesting privileges at Baylor Plano, Robertson sent a letter to the hospital verifying Duntschs training. I'd call him a sociopath." By the time the Dallas County district attorney's office got involved and brought criminal charges against. There was Duntschs childhood friend, Jerry Summers, who woke up from a procedure unable to move his arms and legs. 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. Ultimately, Duntsch'shorrific mistakes made during surgeryand alleged drug use caught up with him. And not just Dallas CountyI dont recall hearing about it anywhere.. If that weren't enough, Page once happened across a drawer at Duntsch's house. It was hearsay, he contended. Brown lost so much blood that the operating room team had to mop the floor with towels, all whileDuntschcomplained he couldn't see her spine to operate. "Dr. Death: The Undoctored Story" and the scripted series "Dr. Death," starring Joshua Jackson, Alec Baldwin and Christian Slaterare both available to stream on Peacock now. Through his career, reports of him doing rounds under the influence were commonplace. He grew up in a middle-class suburb with a teacher mom and a missionary/physical therapist dad. Christopher Duntsch, once a supremely confident neurosurgeon with a solid rsum and a wealth of potential, fled town in disgrace last year under a scalding cascade . Plano surgeon Christopher Duntsch left a trail of bodies. He wanted to find who Duntsch trained under, who his supervisors were. He had blood all over him. We moved in together within three months, and then I became pregnant.. This is accomplished by: Establishing quality . And yet, the names of the latter are incorrect and misspelled. Today, Duntsch is serving a life imprisonment term in a Texas prison, and he's now the subject of an NBC Peacock netstreaming series featuring some big-name, A . In it,was a mirror with cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. Rohr is a very professional man, Passmore says. Duntsch declined a jailhouse interview, but he has called the allegations preposterous. Michael Rimlawi and Douglas Wonthe pair then owned the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in North Dallasrecruited him from Memphis to join the practice. He wanted to ask them questions. 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. At the time, Kane was dating Jerry Summer, a childhood friend of Duntsch. But Duntsch soldiered on. Other doctors had to perform surgery to save his life. Dr. Christopher Duntsch, better known as Doctor Death, is serving a life sentence at a Texas prison today. The 78-year-old Denton County man was then Dr. Christopher Duntsch's first patient when the surgeon started performing spinal fusions in 2011. An "In Memoriam" tribute for him is shown at the end of the final episode of the Peacock series. Like, he wasnt scared. Dallas, Texas 75201. During the 45-minute surgery, Duntsch cut through one of Martin's arteries. In October 2011, she registered articles of incorporation to form Duntschs practice, the Texas Neurosurgical Institute. The world at large may have never heard of Dr. Death but for Laura Beil. At first, Passmore didnt think much about the way Duntsch and his assistant, Kimberly Morgan, interacted. Dr. Robert Henderson, a spine surgeon who has practiced in Dallas for more than 30 years, started digging after being assigned corrective surgery on two of Duntschs patients. He may have figured, at first, that he was protected. Summers had come in for an elective spinal fusion to relieve the pain hed carried for years after a car accident. Duntsch filed for bankruptcy and was arrested in Denver for driving under the influence on Jan. 10, 2014, according to local station KCNC-TV. Mary Efurd, 74, was to have two vertebrae fused, linked by a metal plate. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. They all signed nondisclosure agreements that prohibit them from discussing their cases or their monetary awards. I cried when they said life imprisonment, Young said of the verdict. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. It had come from Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. She woke up with severe pain and couldnt stand. But on January 6, 2012, a week after the surgery, Duntsch went back in. And when this podcast tells you all the gory details, you become that patient. I didnt really know how to feel anymore, but while he was out in Colorado we kept in contact.. Dr. Duntsch is at number one. Duntsch ended up slicing her vertebral artery, stopping blood and oxygen flow to her brain. 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. But hospital after hospital passed the buck. It got to be too much. Why else would his daughter have sent Duntsch a card thanking him? While the show features the exes as the parents to one son, they had two kids together in real life. For the last three days, jurors listened to testimony in the . Duntsch allegedly arrivedat the hospital three hours after the surgery wasplanned to start and began the procedure. We talked about marriage pretty quickly. In March 2012, Duntsch performed alaminectomy on Kellie Martin to reduce her back pain after afallat home. Young said Duntschfollowed her and told her he could explain the bizarre scene. His right leg is as stiff as his pressed blue jeans, and when he walks, he appears to use his hips to heave it forward. All Duntsch got was a slap on the wrist while his blood-soaked foray into the OR continued. She says his favorite saying was You can kiss my black ass while Im watching black-girl porn on my monitor. Which may help explain why she didnt report the three-page email he sent on December 9, 2011. This very friend would later end up a quadriplegic under Duntsch's weapon of a scalpel. Life After "Death": Lethal Surgeon Sentenced to PrisonWATCH NEXT: Attorney who represented Dr. Duntsch's patients discusses her cases (3 of 5) https://youtu.. His mother, Susan, taught school. Young lived there, too, and she says Morgan was a frequent visitor. Unfortunately, it became the patients' burden to bear. Duntsch, again, maintains this wasnt true. I cant write on this form, Oh, by the way, I heard from Dr. Henderson about what sounds like major patient issues that you ought to look into, Foley said in the call. 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. He met Duntsch that day in the physician lounge at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano, where the operation occurred. Duntsch allegedly performed the operation and flew out to Las Vegas without securing a call physician. After they all partied through the night, powered by LSD and cocaine, she said she saw Duntsch put on his lab coat to make rounds the next morning. Passmore was allowed to resign and still access his long-term disability insurance, which he says hed paid into for more than 10 years. Duntsch was described asa precocious boy and a bright student. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. By this time his wife and he had separated and he also filed for bankruptcy. His screams poured out of Baylor Planos intensive care unit and down the hallway, creating a panic in his mother. The hospital saved face and avoided any lawsuits. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. He stayed in New York while everyone. The nerve root had been amputated. And of course, there are many in the medical field who go above and beyond the call of duty. Passmore is still fighting. Mayfield also developed syringomyeliain 2014 - fluid-filled cysts that emerged within his spinal cord, which compressednerves to cause more pain and damage to the sensitive area. Unfortunately, Martin and Brown were not alive to tell their tale. How old was Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things season 1? Did these doctors truly not see though Duntsch? According to court documents, Rimlawi soon grew suspicious of Duntsch. Dallas surgeon Randall Kirby says his former colleague, Dr. Christopher Duntsch, managed to commit crimes so heinous that patients everywhere are still struck by fear when they hear about the case . I dont know what it is, she said. 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. In 2005, partway through the six-year program,he became the director of the tissue bank. Where Is Dr. Christopher Duntsch aka . The other, Discgenics, was more successful; it still owns the patent for the technology. The evidence said otherwise. (He also appears in no yearbooks from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at the time in which he says he earned his Ph.D., and the school declined to verify his claims, citing afederal privacy law.) I dont have feeling in my feet, and I will slip and fall off that damn ladder, he says today. Over the course of 18-months, the nefarious ex-surgeon performed a spree of botched. His dad is a physical therapist. This was the time when Dr. Christopher Duntsch started to turn intoDr. Death. That's when he moved to Colorado to live with his parents. A couple of months later, FloellaBrown came to Duntsch for a cervical fusion to alleviate her neck and shoulder pain. It was something that made us all nervous, but we never had any proof, Boop said in the phone call. What isscarierare the 12 names that follow his. Attorney James Girards was representing Lee Passmore, one of Duntsch's victims and reached out to her. It is during this period that Duntschs carefully built faade began showing its first cracks. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74-years-old. Duntsch maintains that the practice didnt meet the promises it agreed to, and that it still owes him money. It's thrilling if uncomfortable to listen. Next week marks the five-year anniversary of Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch being sentenced to life in prison. According to him, Duntsch had a "great work ethic" and no areas of weakness. And, to successfully sue a hospital, they must prove that the facility acted with malicethat, in granting a physician privileges, it intended to harm the patient. She told D Magazine they named the boys Aiden and Preston. He performed his first operation at Dallas Medical Center on July 24, 2012; the hospital issued temporary privileges while it verified his credentials. Two of his patients, Floella Brown and Kellie Martin, died.. Due to his actions, Brown suffered a stroke that night, but Duntsch didn't responded to hospital pages. One of the early investors in Duntsch's company Discgenics was Dr. Rand Page. 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. Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr Death / Joshua Jackson 6 He was later sentenced to 120 days in jail for the attempted theft, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com. AnnaSophia Robb, 27, portrays Michelle Shughart, the assistant district attorney on Dr. Death's case. Sort of. The operation continued. That was the same month the two started having sex. At Health Grades Duntsch had 4.3 out of 5 stars, "above [the] national average." Unlike Summers, Brown, 63, suffered from hypertension and was a stroke risk. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. 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. Their trysts were largely confined to his office at Baylor Plano, the same place where, she said in her deposition, he often drank vodka and did research after hours. For years, hed focused on research. They had discovered stem cells in human brain tumors. It wasnt until lawsuits were filed that the alleged drug use became public. Now keep in mind, Morgan herself was at the wrong end of some of these suits. Hes jailed on a $600,000 bond, and his trial is set for January 31, 2017. But Duntsch kept going, as if he were fishing in a pond at night, saying he was working by feel, not sight. In a long running series of complaints, a Texas doctor has been found guilty of a felony in one medical malpractice case. He wrote, "You will not find a harder working or more willing individual." One surgeon described these as never events. They shouldnt ever happen in someones entire career. You'd think that a surgeon who was this bad would have some mud spattered on him on the internet. Finally, in July 2015, the Dallas County District Attorneys Office followed through. Duntsch pleaded not guilty. Last week, she had her third child, this one with her new partner. Yet they let him resign and passed the bill along for someone else to pay. The good-looking but eerie Jamie Dornan. Christopher Duntsch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. Some never went to trial and had out-of-court settlements. Summers declined an interview in Memphis and would not answer questions on the phone. But today, about five years after the Passmore surgery, Duntsch sits in Lew Sterrett Justice Center awaiting trial, the rare physician to be indicted on multiple counts of aggravated assault related to what happened in his operating rooms. As one lawyer told me off the record, they faced an almost impossible dilemma: settle and give their families a financial cushion for the future medical costs but sacrifice their right to tell their stories. Was he was only in it for the research prestige and the money? He rode the desk until he couldnt, when things in the county got too busy and all the examiners were required to take calls away from the office to cover the 200-odd scene visits. However, in the Peacock series, the couple is parents to only one child. Duntsch says he was so distraught by Browns outcome that he placed a screw in Efurd 3 millimeters away from where it shouldve been, damaging a nerve root. But the unexpected reunion wasnt a happy one. You, my child, are the only one between me and the other side, he wrote. But as the ultimate betrayal, some doctors violate this code of conduct in the worst possible ways. On April 9, 2013, Mayfield underwent surgery performed by Duntsch to remove a troublesome disk from his spine. If he wasnt doing research, he was out with Jerry Summers, partying, Morgan said in the deposition. Over this period, Duntschperformed back surgeries that left his patients in a worse condition,paralyzed, ordeceased. And who will Dr. Death be? And professional marketing videos got him ready and willing patients. The eight-part series tells the harrowing true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch who, across two years, injured 32 of his 38 patients. Young was 27 when they met; Duntsch was 40. After graduating as a physician with above-average grades, he had his whole life ahead of him. Kirby reported having direct knowledge of seven patients that Dr. Like Dr Henderson, Dr Kirby is still a practicing doctor in real life. He didnt contact a lawyer, although he wrestled with the decision. He recorded conversations with Foley, the head of the fellowship program, and Boop, the chairman. Lee Passmore cant feel his feet. But she wasnt in the room when he woke up a quadriplegic, telling anyone with ears that Duntsch had been using cocaine the night before the procedure. Hospitals are liable only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital was also malicious, that it knew of the risk and ignored it. Not a single doctor, surgeon, staff, or the pathologist of the autopsy every [sic] stated that I surgically caused vascular injury, he wrote. What made this well-recommended neurosurgeon harm his patients and himself? Christopher Duntsch Early Life Story, Family Background and Education. Most of the time, she said, their relationship was confined to his office. Boop also said that Duntsch spent his final year operating as an attending physician, and was not allowed to operate independently. But Morguloffs suit describes him being in excruciating pain and telling nurses that his pain was a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. Ultimately, on that case, he ended up getting 12 months (of) probation and a small fine, Michelle Shughart, assistant district attorney in Dallas County, told Dr Death: The Undoctored Story.. To add to this, his so-called Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center may also be dubious. 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. 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. 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. In fact, he went on to work at two more hospitals. Maybe thats how they do it in Tennessee, but according to my training, thats not how they do it here. Young says hed been breaking into her apartment, and one day she came home to find him inside, covered in blood. Was this a way of keeping the University of Tennessee's ranking up? Duntsch moved to Colorado to live with his parents, while Young stayed behind in Dallas with the couple's son. Dubbed "Dr. Death," the case gained national attention, revealing how easy. Duntsch contends the patient was just trying to get painkillers. I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, she said in the docuseries. He decided to turn to clinical work. Thats when we stumbled across the gap, Passmore says. Like Boop, Dr. Robertson also gave Duntsch a great review. Likely due to Duntsch'sattemptto staunch the blood loss, Brown suffered a buildup of pressure in her brain. Unlike Baldwin, Slater takes on a more brash and quirky doctor role as Dr Kirby, though both work side by side to help reveal the truth about Duntsch's botched surgeries. I agree completely with Dr. Hoyles complaint to the board when he stated that Dr. Duntsch is the most careless, clueless, and dangerous spine surgeon either of us has ever seen, Kirby wrote. Duntsch grew up in a middle-class family. They listened, judged and found Duntsch guilty, and sentenced him to life in prison, reports USA Today. You, my child, are the only one between me and the other side, he wrote. 33 of his 37 surgeries were botched, with two dead and 31 injured for life. She enlisted Duntsch to help fix it. They described him as the bright, precocious little boy who had taken. No such thing. We discovered it.. Meanwhile, his patients kept suffering, and dying, in his OR. Nobody can recognize whether it was ours or not! Ignatova says. A few weeks later I took my first son to visit him for Christmas and then I became pregnant, Young said. They went on to have two children. While Ignatova and Kukekov say they were in the labs, Duntsch focused on raising money. Moving made sense for both of them. He says Fennells surgery went so well that he agreed to be in a commercial for Baylor Plano. Around this time, Drs. He promises to take all pain and suffering away. Hoyle became so disturbed by Duntsch's actions that at one point he physically restrained him. Facebook Dr. Christopher Duntsch on his first day as a neurosurgeon. The real question is:Why couldn't anyone stop him in time? Ellis Unit outside of Huntsville, Texas. Saul Elbein writes in the Texas Observer that Dr. Hendersonsent him a recording of his complaint to the Texas Medical Board. He argues that the patients were just telling stories and that Passmore was fine after his operation. Investigations took patients and attorneys back to where Duntsch had had such a promising beginningin Memphis, at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he earned both an M.D. DR Death, Peacocks new limited series starring Joshua Jackson, is based on a true story, and we have your look at photos comparing the cast with their real-life counterparts. He recorded a conversation with Dr. Frederick Boop, who followed Robertson as the chairman of the department of neurosurgery. He was friendly, and we had good conversation. DiscGenics' mission is to improve the lives of those debilitated by degenerative diseases of the spine through development of innovative regenerative therapies. 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. St. Jude says there was no such program at the hospital at that time. Ignatova believes this to be deliberate. 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. Christopher Duntsch, now known as "Dr. Death," had his medical license revoked in 2013 (more on that below), per Pro Publica.He subsequently moved back in with his parents in Colorado and was . Meanwhile, Duntsch was struggling financially and started racking up a series of strange arrests. A neurosurgeon reviewing the case for the court found an errant screw had not only opened Brown's arterybut blocked it, and that Duntsch hadmisdiagnosed Brown, operating on the wrong area entirely. Currently, Discgenics has no mention of Duntsch at all, his history with the company, or that he's the massive elephant in the room. The Staircase (The O.G.). The deal required Duntsch to gain privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. In 2005, about a third of the way through the six-year program, department chairman Dr. Jon Robertson appointed him program director of the schools tissue bank, where hed supply samples to scientists and oversee two labs. I think he built up this idea in his head of who he was and what he was going to do with his life and now all of that has disappeared and wasnt coming back, I think he finds himself in a state where hes struggling to figure out, who am I now? Shughart said in the series. But the same law also helps these very hospitals in keeping doctor credentials confidential. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Joshua Jackson (right) portrays Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr Death, on the new Peacock limited series, Alec Baldwin (right) plays Dr Robert Henderson, The role of Dr Randall Kirby is portrayed by Christian Slater (right), Credit: Dallas Surgical Specialists/ Barbara Nitke/Peacock, AnnaSophia Robb (right) takes on the role of Michelle Shughart, Dominic Burgess (right) is Jerry Summers on the series, Molly Griggs (right) portrays Wendy Young on Dr Death, Dr Death - Trailer for the Peacock series based on the true story of Christopher Duntsch, Dr Death cast vs real people See photos of Christopher Duntsch, Michelle Shughart & more. She assumed Morgan was only helping with research. But Dr. William Rohr did editorialize in his conclusion: The collection of blood was most likely the result of a therapeutic misadventure. Duntsch blames the death on an allergy to fentanyl, a powerful narcotic often used in intubation. He works out, he reads, he studies the Bible. That same month, Kirby wrote, he, along with the Glidewell family, brought the case to prosecutors and asked to press charges. Duntsch could have turned it into something good and meaningful. Robot, True Romance, Very Bad Things, and Robot Chicken. In an article in Texas Observer,author SaulElbein says that one of the doctors he spoke to likened Duntsch to Hannibal Lecter three times in eight minutes. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Prosecutors argued that the disgraced doctor had used his scalpel and hands as weapons to seriously injure or kill his patients. Duntsch was told to take a drug test but disappeared instead. 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. 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. He was shocked at the CT scan: the spinal fusion hardware sat in her soft tissue. Their suffering becomes yours. He, too, had an injury to his left vertebral artery, and the incision was far from where it shouldve been and had begun to leak pus. According to his lawyer, Duntsch was a scapegoat. His next patient, Floella Brown was 63. I look at my children, I felt like, How am I gonna explain this to them?. Duntsch began cheating on. Let's delve into what made him tick, and how the medical community failed the victims of Dr. Christopher Daniel Duntsch. Christopher Duntsch and Wendy Young struck up a conversation right away, and within three months, they were dating and living together. Also present, according to Kane, was Jerry Summers, the childhood friend who would later wake up a quadriplegic after a Duntsch operation. The original patent still holds, and hopefully, Discgenics would be able to break out of the Dr. Death shadow todo some real anti-cancer work instead. Then he also took prescription painkillers and ate a paper blotter of LSD. Joshua Jackson as Dr. Christopher Duntsch Asked if he had a chance to meet with Duntsch, who's now serving a life sentence for maiming Mary Efurd during what should have been routine surgery,. Also Read: Made For Love: Who Are Caleb Foote Parents? Duntsch was taken to jail for what Young referred to as a time out but his erratic behavior wouldnt end there. In the Dallas medical community, Christopher Duntsch was seen as a rising star. When his patient woke up in the recovery room unable to move his extremities, Duntsch failed to perform a CAT scan or MRI. Even the hospitals that he worked for kept enabling him, according to a report by the Dallas County prosecutors.