Only time will tell story about Christopher Duntsch finally broke, discovered stem cells in human brain tumors, Duntsch, Ignatova, and Kukekov as the inventors, Neurosurgeon residents need to complete 1,000 surgeries, Page would see Duntsch mixing a vodka orange, At Health Grades Duntsch had 4.3 out of 5 stars, Dr. Robertson also gave Duntsch a great review, Attorney James Girards was representing Lee Passmore, one of the doctors he spoke to likened Duntsch to Hannibal Lecter, the school refused to verify or deny his claims, according to a report by the Dallas County prosecutors, According to the prosecutors, TMB had many complaints on file, irreparably damaged by Dr. Death's grievous malpractices, It took the Texas Medical Board one whole year to investigate, Henderson actually checked if Duntsch was a real doctor with The University of Tennessee, Hospitals are liable only if the plaintiff can prove that the hospital was also malicious, the same law also helps these very hospitals, For the DA though she proved to be a good witness, A string of arrests for DWI, shoplifting, and more followed, Becker's Hospital Review covered the 13 worst physicians of 2017, as named by Medscape, Dr. Death is now also going to be a TV show, Will it help patients protect their rights. Somebody knocks back and I am like Who in the f---is in my house, Young recalled in the four-part Peacock docuseries Dr. Duntsch also received 40 percent of all revenue he generated beyond $800,000 each year. He announced that he would be removing the ligament that separates the disc from the spinal canal. He is a graduate of Evangelical Christian School in the Cordova suburb of Memphis, where he starred in football. A longtime field agent for the Collin County Medical Examiner, Passmore needed knowledge from his training at scenes. He hadnt seen it with his own eyes. Attorney James Girards was representing Lee Passmore, one of Duntsch's victims and reached out to her. He also discovered a way to produce stem cells from intervertebral discs in cultures outside the body. They had discovered stem cells in human brain tumors. I thought it was pretty amazing that he was even able to go to work the next day, she said in the deposition. Many ofDuntsch's patient-turned-victims filed malpractice suits, according to Dallas News. 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. In April 2015, he was arrested for stealing $887.30 in Walmart merchandise: five pairs of sunglasses, five watches, two pairs of shoes, four ties, two briefcases, a wallet, cologne, necklaces, a walkie-talkie. Duntsch began cheating on. But hospital after hospital passed the buck. While some called his eventual downfall greed-related, who knows what evil the human mind is capable of. 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 . The intended 45-minute procedure stretched over an hour before Duntsch finally emerged and told Mayfield's wife the surgery was a success. Duntsch made a major miscalculation when he ventured south into Dallas to practice. I was just like Whatever, Im out of here, Young recalled. Duntsch had been suspended from operations . You, my child, are the only one between me and the other side, he wrote. There is no way to communicate what happened there, without a 20-page document of disclosures and events and responsible parties, Duntsch once wrote of Brown and Efurd. Since receiving his life sentence, Dr Death is currently housed in the O.B. Duntschdestroyed the lives of numerous patients who were seeking relief from back problems. He told Morgan that Young, who was pregnant at the time with their first son, was his close friend and secretary. It was pouring out of the epidural blood vessels and pooling in the disc space. Young and Duntsch have two sons. He also vibrateshis chest shakes, his right hand jitters. Did these doctors truly not see though Duntsch? He would climb a ladder and take aerial photos of crime scenes to aid in the death investigation. According to Irving-based physician recruitment firm Merritt Hawkins, a single neurosurgeon produced his or her hospital an average revenue of $2.45 million in 2015. I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer.. By December, Duntsch wrangled privileges at Legacy Surgery Center of Frisco, and Kirby, in his letter to the Texas Medical Board, narrated another grim outcome: Jacqueline Troys vocal cord was paralyzed, and her esophagus and trachea had become connected, an unheard of complication. A corrective surgery happened two weeks later, after she arrived at the emergency room of Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, where Kirby practiced. 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. Duntsch is now living out his life behind bars, but Young told CNBC'sAmerican Greed earlier this year that the former neurosurgeon still regularly talks with his two young sons. But Duntsch soldiered on. Because how can I do anything I want and cross every discipline boundary like its [sic] a playground and never ever lose., Duntsch also said he was prepared to embrace the very darkest part of himself. NovoStem Therapeutics, which attempted to monetize the cancer stem cell discovery, failed after taking a funding hit during the 2008 recession. After his arrest, he still had those loving parents. Likely due to Duntsch'sattemptto staunch the blood loss, Brown suffered a buildup of pressure in her brain. Before he cheated, before he lied. The real question is:Why couldn't anyone stop him in time? Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. He kept her on after splitting from Rimlawi and Won. Through his career, reports of him doing rounds under the influence were commonplace. Baylor asked him to resign immediately. Christopher Daniel Duntsch was born in Montana on April 3, 1971, and raised alongside his three siblings in an affluent suburb of Memphis, Tennessee. At this point, Ive had enough and so I called the police.. Dallas Magazine statesthatDuntsch became key in supplying samples to scientists for research. He was the eldest of four. Don tried to convince the jury that his son cared for his patients. Some never went to trial and had out-of-court settlements. By November, he had surgical privileges to operate on patients. He recorded conversations with Foley, the head of the fellowship program, and Boop, the chairman. She was a National . 33 of his 37 surgeries were botched, with two dead and 31 injured for life. When he stepped off the bed for the first time after surgery, the feeling on the bottom of his feet had vanished. Unlike a TV series where you get to see the character,a podcast is darker. And what stops another physicianfrom turning into the next Dr. Death? We certainly would not knowingly allow one person to compromise the level of quality care that we have worked so hard and invested so much to achieve for our patients and our community.. There was Kellie Martin, who died from massive blood loss after a surgery at Baylor Plano. Martin paid with her lifebecause her doctor was too proud to say he screwed up. Duntsch had only been in the Dallas area for a few months. But hed make troubling, bizarre pronouncements, like Everybodys doing it wrong. Duntsch filed patents for each discovery, and two companies were soon created. The real question is:Can this TV show bring about a change in medical law, or how hospitals treat their patients and doctors? It might be Baylor, it might be somebody down in Austin, it might be somebody somewhere, but its the only way you can get your voice out there. Duntsch grew up in a middle-class family. . During this time, out of three procedures, one patient died and another was partially paralyzed. 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. Duntsch moved to Colorado to live with his parents, while Young stayed behind in Dallas with the couples son. She also never reported Duntsch up the ladder. Duntsch ended up slicing her vertebral artery, stopping blood and oxygen flow to her brain. He has taken Baylor Plano to court to change the Texas law requiring patients to prove that a hospital intended to harm them when it granted privileges to someone who was unsafe. They lived in a future colleagues condo at the W Hotel while they looked for a home in Plano, close to where Duntsch would be practicing. They described him as the bright, precocious little boy who had taken. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. He seemed really distraught and I was scared, she said of the father of her two children. I dont know if hes there to harm me or what his true intentions were, she said in the docuseries. 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. Death after botching 33 of38 surgeries over a two-year span, inside the apartment covered in blood, holding her gun in one hand and a knife in the other, she said. According to Texas Medical Board records, Summers vertebral artery was damaged, and he lost more than two liters of blood while intubated. On paper, the 40-year-old man who arrived in Dallas in the summer of 2011 was a completely different Christopher Duntsch than the one who was introduced to the public after more than a dozen allegations of severely botched surgeries. James Gunn has used the 'Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' as a "trojan horse" to introduce some elements of the upcoming third film in the series.The 40-minute holiday special features Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis' (Pom Klementieff) bid to help Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) rediscover his love of the festive season, but the director admitted the one-off Disney+ feature Maybe thats how they do it in Tennessee, but according to my training, thats not how they do it here. Christopher Duntsch, 44, faces up to life in prison if convicted. "A few weeks later I took my first son to visit him for Christmas and then I became pregnant," Young said. Was it you? Young said in the docuseries. Kirby reported having direct knowledge of seven patients that Dr. His dad is a physical therapist. The deal required Duntsch to gain privileges at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano. 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. Passmore also learned about Kenneth Fennell, a 68-year-old who alleged in a lawsuit that, during a November procedure, Duntsch operated on the wrong body part. His CV proclaims that he earned a doctorate in microbiology from the prestigious St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, graduating summa cum laude. And you are one of the lucky ones." I cannot recall a physician being indicted for aggravated assault for acts committed during surgery, says Toby Shook, a Dallas defense attorney who spent 23 years working as a Dallas County prosecutor. Dubbed "Dr. Death," the case gained national attention, revealing how easy. The civil attorneys in these cases were able to land a rather damning e-mail sent from Duntsch to his girlfriend/physical assistant.The girlfriend was Kimberly Morgan, and in the e-mail to her, the ramblings of a mind gone wrong are clear. There was Duntschs childhood friend, Jerry Summers, who woke up from a procedure unable to move his arms and legs. In it, he is yelling at Maria Lopez, the medical board investigator assigned to Duntsch's case in January 2013, demanding to know why he was still practicing. He was the oldest of fourhe has two brothers, Nathan and Matt, and a sister, Lizand attended a private high school. Philip is one of more than 30 people maimed by Dr. Christopher Duntsch, nicknamed Dr. Death by the media. The fault also lies with the Texas law. His dad is a physical therapist. The nerve root had been amputated. Most of the time, she said, their relationship was confined to his office. 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 . 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. Wendy Young knew her ex-boyfriend Christopher Duntschs medical career was unraveling, but she wasnt prepared for what she said was his bizarre behavior that coincided with his fall from grace as a surgeon. Wendy Renee Young says she met Duntsch in 2011 at the Beauty Shopin Memphis, a bar and restaurant that borrowed its shtick from its past life as a curl-and-dye shop owned by Elvis Presleys ex-wife. Then he also took prescription painkillers and ate a paper blotter of LSD. 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.. Its hard to find good conversation with a random person, Young says. A bold pronouncement, yet after just one sloppy, dangerous surgery, Hoyle vowednever to work with Duntsch again. Anton Floquet/NBCUniversal, I knocked on my door. Duntsch's license was finally revoked in June 2013, after he had killed two patients and maimed 31 others. Joshua Jackson as Christopher Duntsch in "Dr. Death." (Peacock/Scott McDermott/Peacock) The real Duntsch, a Texas-based surgeon, maimed or killed 33 of 38 surgical patients between 2011 and . Dallas most important news stories of the week, delivered to your inbox each Sunday. It was sent on a Friday at 4 am. is a beautiful and populous city located in Montana U.S. . Duntsch had another surgery scheduled the day that Brown suffered her stroke. His screams poured out of Baylor Planos intensive care unit and down the hallway, creating a panic in his mother. Christopher Duntsch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. I have lost both companies. He would file for bankruptcy years later, and the filings show that Duntsch has had no managerial role with Discgenics since 2012, when he was removed as a board member and as chief science officer. AnnaSophia Robb, 27, portrays Michelle Shughart, the assistant district attorney on Dr. Death's case. Preston was born in September 2014 while she was living with her sister in Garland, Texas. 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. Eddie Redmayne dans le rle de Charlie Cullen et Jessica Chastain dans le rle d'Amy Since no one else knew what was wrong, they couldn't save her. Thats dangerouseven that attitude is dangerous. Duntsch relented, allowing Hoyle to move in, stop the bleeding, and clean out the wound. The good-looking but eerie Jamie Dornan. He also had a credit card in his name connected to Duntschs account and would drive him around, balance his checkbooks, pick up dry cleaning. In it,was a mirror with cocaine and a rolled-up dollar bill on top. According to a police report obtained by The Texas Observer, Duntsch was captured on camera trying to steal $887 worth of merchandise, including pants, briefcases, cologne, watches and sun glasses. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. In Dallas, Duntsch developed a reputation of frequenting upscale bars and hotels where he partied with his lifelong best friend and personal assistant, Jerry Summers. At University General Hospital, Kirby had been granted emergency privileges to operate on a Duntsch patient named Jeffery Glidewell. I dont know what it is, she said. During the 45-minute surgery, Duntsch cut through one of Martin's arteries. 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 Passmore is one of the lucky ones. On July 1, 2011, Duntsch and Baylor Plano agreed to an inducement deal. On Jan. 10, 2014, Denver police arrested him for driving under the influence. But what Duntsch hadnt counted on was the Dallas County District Attorneys Office. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. It was hearsay, he contended. It was the invention of me and my wife, because we made all primary experiments. Duntsch pleaded not guilty. He went back to the sourcethe University of Tennessee Health Science Center. ), The door opened and Young found Duntsch, who had earned the moniker, The encounter was just one of a series of troubling incidents after Duntschwho, once referred to himself as a mixture of God, Einstein and the Antichrist, Photo: Toby Shook, a Dallas defense attorney, gave a statement toDallas Magazine:"I cannot recall a physician being indicted for aggravated assault for acts committed during surgery. Its less than a millimeter from the spinal canal. Theres no blank here for that.. Christopher Duntsch and Wendy Young struck up a conversation right away, and within three months, they were dating and living together. Then it just started to all unravel.. The shocking story of a madman with a scalpel. Talking to the Dallas Morning News in 2014, Duntsch said he provided the test and was clean. Out of his 38 surgeries, only three had no complications. Base compensation was $600,000 a year for two years, beginning on June 14, 2011. "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. Due to his actions, Brown suffered a stroke that night, but Duntsch didn't responded to hospital pages. 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 a dissection of one patients esophagus, and screws that an indictment labeled far too long that caused significant blood loss in another patient. And yet they occurred in Duntschs operating rooms over a period of just two years. Hes jailed on a $600,000 bond, and his trial is set for January 31, 2017. Dallas, Texas 75201. She passedfromblood loss in the ICU. This is notably weird, considering Christopher Duntsch trained underDr. Boop, so you'd assume that theyoperated together as part of the whole learning surgery process. The first of these had been college football. Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr Death / Joshua Jackson 6 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. And not just Dallas CountyI dont recall hearing about it anywhere.. Duntsch hired Morgan while he was still with the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute, and she began on August 29, 2011. At this point, Im like freaking out, and I just, I leave.. When the story about Christopher Duntsch finally broke, it affected his patients, or rather, hisvictims, but many people missed it. Shes 33 now and doesnt live in Dallas anymore. I am beginning to think the police are the only ones intellectually and physically capable of getting to the bottom of this matter, he wrote. When his patient woke up in the recovery room unable to move his extremities, Duntsch failed to perform a CAT scan or MRI. The statute of limitations made them base their case on only six victims. I thought he was either really, really good, or hes just really, really arrogant and thought he was good, Hoyle says now. An incredibly difficult thing to prove. He struggles with incontinence. Namely, that hed been up all night snorting eight balls of cocaine (3.5 grams each) with Duntsch. He may have figured, at first, that he was protected. Young was 27 when they met; Duntsch was 40. July 19, 2021 The former neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch was finally brought to justice after injuring and maiming over 30 of his patients during surgery and allegedly causing the deaths of two more. Young elaborated in a 2016 D Magazine story on Duntschs troubled career that Duntsch told her his attacker had been an investigator hired by an attorney representing his angry patients, but that account was never verified. A few weeks later I took my first son to visit him for Christmas and then I became pregnant, Young said. The 51-year-old recently starred in the USA true crime series, Dirty John, opposite Connie Britton. Meanwhile, Brown went brain dead and passed away. Yet, instead of saving lives and using his knowledge for good, the opposite happened. 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 . The notorious neurosurgeon was forced to declare bankruptcy shortly after and moved back in with his parents in Colorado. 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. And professional marketing videos got him ready and willing patients. Hell tell you as much. Was he was only in it for the research prestige and the money? So the hospitals he worked for knew of his carelessness and sociopathic behavior in the OR. He called Baylor Plano President Jerri Garison, who was clearly familiar with Duntsch and was just as clear about how little she could say on the matter: He no longer has privileges here, and I have to be very careful about what I say to you. Baylor said it was unable to provide its executives for interviews because of Passmores pending lawsuit. According to his lawyer, Duntsch was a scapegoat. Duntsch wrote that he accepted he was a cold-blooded killer. 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. Her body was in the Collin County Medical Examiners office in March 2012. He projected that I was the source of a lot of his problems and difficulties.. She fell pregnant with their first son, Aiden, not long after that. Because of a valuable patent the company owned, they let him through the gates and out into the world.