Trial Begins Monday for Christopher Duntsch, Ex-Neurosurgeon Criminally Charged for Patient Harm

Come Monday morning, Christopher Duntsch will appear in court for the first day of his trial.

You may remember Duntsch from our November cover story, which followed the neurosurgeon from his time training in Memphis to his arrival in North Texas and the lengthy series of disturbing patient outcomes that followed. Duntsch has been confined to Lew Sterrett since July 2015, after being indicted on five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one of injury to an elderly person. The ex-prosecutors and defense attorneys I spoke with while reporting that story could not recall a surgeon who was indicted for what happened inside their operating rooms during surgery. Two individuals died after a Duntsch operation. Kellie Martin bled out at Baylor Medical Center at Plano after her vertebral artery was severed. Five months later, at Dallas Medical Center, Floella Brown had a stroke after her vertebral artery was damaged. She was declared dead after being transferred to UT Southwestern.

Fourteen patients sued Duntsch during the two or so years he had a license to practice. Court documents show that the Dallas County District Attorney found a total of 34, which they allege he “intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly caused bodily injury and/or serious bodily injury.” It took more than a year for the Texas Medical Board to revoke his license after first receiving complaints. He wound up receiving privileges at four area hospitals and allegedly harmed patients at each.

Duntsch is an anomaly. It’s rather difficult to secure a criminal conviction of a physician related to the care he or she provided because of the burden of proof. The prosecution will likely need to prove that Duntsch was operating with a gross deviation from the accepted standard of care. Toby Shook, a former Dallas County prosecutor, says they’ll likely have to show that Duntsch was “aware but that he consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk.”

Read more: http://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/01/trial-begins-monday-for-christopher-duntsch-ex-neurosurgeon-criminally-charged-for-patient-harm/

Related threads:
Jailed ex-Dallas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch sued over botched procedure, sponge in body August 2015
Surgeon who wrote of becoming killer is denied bail reduction (Duntsch case) August 2015
Update: Jailed Plano neurosurgeon’s father testifies for prosecution (Duntsch case) August 2015
Update: ‘Sociopath’ Surgeon Duntsch Facing Criminal Charges for Botched Surgeries July 2015
Update: Cocaine-using ‘Sociopath’ Neurosurgeon Duntsch Arrested for Shoplifting Pants May 2015
Greg Abbott Defends Sociopathic Surgeon Over Victims of Botched Spinal Surgeries Aug 2014
Greg Abbott Intervenes In Suit Involving "Sociopathic Neurosurgeon" Mar 2014
Plano’s Baylor hospital faces hard questions after claims against former neurosurgeon Mar 2014
Federal suit: Baylor failed to stop cocaine-using surgeon from harming patients Jan 2014
Dr. Christopher Duntsch, Plano Surgeon Suspended for Killing Patients, Gets Sued for Malpractice Jun 2013