Dr. Christopher Duntsch, aka Dr. Death, became the first doctor in the United States to be convicted on criminal charges while practicing medicine. Ultimately, Dr. Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years. How did this happen?
He has been called Dr. Death—that’s not his real name, of course. Dr. Christopher Duntsch has been the subject of numerous television shows and podcasts. His medical career has made him famous—though not for his medical contributions. His nickname, Dr. Death, reveals the opposite.
Dr. Christopher Duntsch was a superstar neurosurgeon – on paper. He injured 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years. These were not minor injuries either. Many of his surviving patients are forced to suffer partial or complete paralysis for the rest of their lives. Two died due to Dr. Duntsch’s gross negligence.
Dr. Duntsch’s medical career landed him in the history books for all the wrong reasons. He became the first doctor in the United States to be convicted of criminal charges committed while treating patients.
Dr. Duntsch, “Show me where it hurts.”
Despite completing the MD-PhD and neurosurgery programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Dr. Duntsch’s career started shakily. His colleagues alleged that Dr. Duntsch had operated while under the influence of cocaine sometime in the fourth year of his residency. He was ordered to complete an impaired physician’s program. Once he finished, he returned to work.
Dr. Duntsch’s first full-time job was at the Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, Texas (now Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano and commonly referred to as Baylor Plano). He was hired there in 2011 as a minimally invasive spine surgeon. At Baylor, he began to garner a troubling reputation as a surgeon who did not know what he was doing.
Kenneth Fennell was the first patient Dr. Duntsch operated on at Baylor. Fennell went into surgery with back problems, hoping Dr. Duntsch’s skills would alleviate his pain.
Instead, Dr. Duntsch operated on the wrong part of Fennell’s back. This caused Fennell even more pain, so Dr. Duntsch performed a second operation to fix it. In that attempt, Dr. Duntsch removed a nerve that left Fennell paralyzed from the legs down.
More surgical errors followed. Dr. Duntsch removed ligaments that should not have been operated on and even severed major arteries during one minor back operation. Then, Dr. Death earned his nickname when one patient died after suffering acute blood loss under Dr. Duntsch’s knife.
Finally, the administration at Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, Texas (now Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano and commonly referred to as Baylor Plano) told Dr. Duntsch that he would never operate at their facility again. And yet, Dr. Duntsch resigned before he could be terminated. If he had been fired, Baylor Regional Medical Center would have been required to report Dr. Duntsch to the National Practitioner Data Bank (the NPDB is a repository of information that prevents healthcare providers from practicing medicine from state to state without disclosing past professional transgressions that may have resulted in medical malpractice lawsuits).
Dr. Duntsch joined the Dallas Medical Center in the Farmers Branch soon after leaving Baylor Regional Medical Center. He only lasted one week. In that short time, one patient died under his care, and he left another severely maimed — paralyzed in an operation where Dr. Duntsch put screws into muscle instead of bone.
After the Dallas Medical Center administration revoked his temporary privileges, Dr. Duntsch left and eventually made his way to two more Texas hospitals—and more victims.
Dr. Duntsch left surgical equipment in one patient’s body and drilled into another patient’s spinal cord, leaving that person to suffer severe paralysis until he died in 2021. Dr. Duntsch sewed a sponge into another patient’s throat, causing a sepsis infection.
Dr. Duntsch continued to receive privileges at multiple hospitals and one out-patient free-standing surgery center despite the following:
- a history of unheard-of complications such as massive blood loss, malpositioned hardware, vertebral artery injuries, screws through nerves,
- drug paraphernalia found in his medical office,
- cocaine found in his medical office,
- physicians and lawyers calling hospitals, begging them to strip his privileges, and
- multiple medical board complaints by patients and physicians.
Source: Kay Van Wey, A Patient’s Journey, Lambs to the Slaughter, NAMSS presentation
At this point in 2013, authorities noted Dr. Death’s history of negligence that lasted less than two years. Dr. Duntsch was finally reported to the NPDB, and the last hospital he worked at, University General in Dallas (now closed) in Dallas, let him go.
Dr. Christopher Duntsch and ‘The End of Dr. Death’
“Unfortunately. You cannot understand that I really am building an empire, and I am so far outside the box, that the earth is small and the sun is bright.” Dr. Christopher Duntsch aka Dr. Death
Quote Source: Kay Van Wey, A Patient’s Journey, Lambs to the Slaughter, NAMSS presentation
However, the reality for Dr. Death’s patients was far from bright and sunny as he was ultimately accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years.
After investigating him for ten months, the Texas State Medical Board revoked Dr. Christopher Duntsch’s medical license on December 6, 2013. Dr. Death’s reign of terror was over. However, his surviving patients and the deceased’s loved ones would have to deal with the side effects of his treatment forever. Paralysis, inability to move well or feed themselves, and excruciating pain are only a few symptoms that linger to this day for many of his patients.
A small measure of justice for the victims was attained when criminal charges were filed against Dr. Christopher Duntsch:
- 6 felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- 5 counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury
- 1 count of injury to an elderly person
Dr. Christopher Duntsch was convicted of injury to an elderly person, which demands a stiff sentence in Texas. In 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison. He became the first doctor in the United States to be convicted on criminal charges while practicing medicine. In 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Dr. Duntsch’s conviction. He will be eligible for parole in 2045 at the age of 74.
What can medical organizations do to stop a future “Dr. Death”?
Proper medical credentialing is a critical action a hospital or other medical organization takes to ensure their physicians are appropriately licensed and certified to practice medicine. Appropriate credentialing reduces an organization’s chances of facing medical malpractice lawsuits because the process weeds out doctors who are unfit or unqualified to treat patients. Medical credentialing is a significant step during a provider’s enrollment into insurance plans, health networks, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Conventional provider enrollment can take up to 3 months to complete if the application is in good shape. However, a few credentialing companies, such as Primoris, can provide faster provider enrollment so qualified doctors can get to work quicker. Organizations should only use credentialing companies with decades of experience and solid relationships with many health plans and networks. Proper provider enrollment can reduce the chances of another Dr. Death slipping through the cracks.
In the end, Dr. Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients and killing two patients in less than two years.
“Anyone close to me thinks that I likely am something between god, Einstein, and the Antichrist. Because how can I do anything I want and cross every discipline boundary like it’s a playground and never lose? But unfortunately, despite the fact that I am winning, it is not happening fast enough. What is the problem, Kim? It is simply that everyone else is human and there is nothing I can do about it. And so, I pick and choose my humans and try to help them and show them.” Dr. Christopher Duntsch aka Dr. Death
Quote Source: Kay Van Wey, A Patient’s Journey, Lambs to the Slaughter, NAMSS presentation
Read more in our future blog post on Dr. Death Part III of IV with specific insights from the 2021 Dr. Death NAMSS Conference panel.
More information about Fifth Avenue Healthcare Services
Fifth Avenue Healthcare Services is part of an NCQA Credentialing Accredited family of healthcare companies. Sister companies include 5ACVO (credentialing and primary source verification specialists), Fifth Avenue Agency (MPLI and medical malpractice insurance specialists), and Primoris Credentialing Network (credentialing and provider enrollment specialists with 54+ health plan and network provider enrollment options).
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