Page 26 - Dallas Vol 5 No 4

KAY VAN WEY | Medical Malpractice Dr. Death, Dr. Oz and Me
Inthe approximately thirty- two years in which I have held a law license, I have been privileged with the opportunity to be involved in some fairly high- pro le cases. I’ve surely seen my share of bad actors and horri c injuries. But, my representation of many of the victims of Dr. Christopher Duntsch,
probably “takes the cake.”
In case you’ve been living under a
rock or have shunned all news in favor of your mental health and well-being, let me recap. Dr. Duntsch was a Dal- las neurosurgeon who tore a path of destruction through the bodies of his unwitting victims. e surgical errors were of a nature that led other doctors in the community to conclude that he was either drunk, stoned, mentally ill, or a combination thereof. If you were to ask Dr. Duntsch at the time, he would have said that other people thought he was somewhere on the spectrum of “God, Einstein or the Anti-Christ.”
One of the things that made his reign of terror, so appalling was how di cult it was to stop him. A lawsuit, or a dozen lawsuits, didn’t stop him. Complaints (many) to the medical board didn’t stop him. Hospital gov- erning bodies didn’t stop him. Al- though the medical board did even- tually end the terror, the time it took them to do so allowed many people’s
lives to be need- lessly shattered. Ultimately, a Dallas county jury took future patients out of
harm’s way by sentencing Dr. Duntsch to life in prison.
e story gained national attention when the podcast “Dr. Death” was released. It quickly jumped to #1 on Apple’s most downloaded podcasts! Because of the popularity of the pod- cast, Dr. Oz picked up the story and invited me onto the show. at was the experience of a lifetime. I’ll ad- mit it was pretty cool to be in front of a “live studio audience” and enjoy my 15 minutes of fame. But, talking to Dr. Oz a erwards will always stick with me the most. As a surgeon him- self, Dr. Oz was incredulous that Dr. Duntsch was able to do this much harm before someone stopped him.
Hospitals are required to undertake rigorous analysis of the competence of the physicians whom they let on their sta and keep on their sta . ey are largely allowed to do so in complete secrecy and with near complete im- munity from liability for their deci- sions. Hospitals are required by law to report incompetent or impaired physicians to a national databank so that they cannot pass from hospital to hospital or state to state. However, it is no secret that hospitals have failed to comply with their reporting require- ments. In fact, as of December 2015, nearly half of the hospitals in the U.S. had never reported as single physi- cian to the National Practitioner Data Bank! Private litigants in Texas have little recourse, being held to a malice standard in malicious credentialing cases and being required to prove malice with evidence that by law is restricted from disclosure. When
dangerous doctors are not reported, patients are likely to su er. I know of no more stark example of this than the Dr. Duntsch/Dr. Death cases.
I’d like to say that, as a result of my e orts and the national publicity, the system failures have been xed. Sadly, this is not the case. ere are de nite problems which need to be xed. Here is my short list:
• Penalize hospitals who do not re- port dangerous doctors to the Na- tional Practitioner Data Bank
• Make the National Practitioner Data Bank open to the public
• Overhaul and increase funding to the Texas Medical Board
• Penalize residency programs who do not report, and dismiss, danger- ous doctors
• Make malicious credentialing claims easier to pursue
• Require certain types of doctors, such as surgeons, to carry more than minimal liability insurance. As lawyers, we might like to think
that we are smarter and more capable of choosing a good doctor, but let me be frank... any of us could fall victim to a Dr. Death. e system is designed to keep secrets from you and me; the patient. I have a brochure on how to choose a good doctor, which, admit- tedly, is no guarantee, but may at least steer you in the right direction. You can get it here https://www.vanwey- law.com/ nding-the-right-doctor/.
Well, back to the salt mines. My 15 minutes of fame have passed, but I’ll keep ghting for patient safety.... We all have a lot invested in this topic!
Kay Van Wey is a plaintiff’s medical malpractice attorney. After more than 30 years in the trenches, her goal is to make herself extinct by helping to eradicate preventable medical errors. Voted Texas Super Lawyer for 14 consecu- tive years, she’s named to D Best Magazine in tort product and medical liability litigation: plaintiff 2016. Kay has also attained membership in the Million and Multimillion Dollar Advocates Forum. Her vast experience in personal injury litigation, combined with her tremendous work ethic and leadership skills, have culminated in her leading an “A” team of committed professionals. Contact Kay online at vanweylaw.com or [email protected].
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · DALLAS· VOL. 5 NO. 4 26