Federal suit: Healthcare system failed to stop surgeon

Baylor Health Care System failed to properly monitor or investigate a Plano (Texas) neurosurgeon–recently barred from practicing in the state–despite repeated warnings about an alleged “drug problem” and “lack of competence,” according to a federal lawsuit. Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano didn’t seek Dr. Christopher Duntsch‘s resignation amid months of botched spinal treatments until one of his patients died in March 2012, the suit alleges. The hospital gave him a “letter of reference” that subsequently allowed him to go on to harm patients at other Dallas facilities, the suit also states.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, echoes allegations from a previous Dallas County lawsuit and a recent license-revocation order from the Texas Medical Board. But the new suit delves deeper into Duntsch’s stint at Baylor, the Dallas Morning News Investigates blog reported last week.

Source: Dallas Morning News