Alcohol, drugs & medical malpractice
By: Darrell Castle
“Is your doctor stoned?” That was the question posed this morning on a Today show segment mixed with emotions of shock, heartbreak and rage – or at least those are the emotions that ran over me when I watched it.
100,000 – that’s the number of doctors addicted to drugs or alcohol! And addiction’s one thing, but for doctors to be under the influence while at work, PERFORMING SURGERY, is another. But it’s happening!
“There are doctors out there right now under the influence of prescription narcotics as we speak, putting patients at risk,” said Dr. Stephen Loyd, a Tennessee doctor speaking from personal experience.
At his worst, Dr. Loyd, who is now 10 years clean, was taking 100 Vicodin pills a day…while seeing patients.
Loyd claims his patients never knew he was using and he’s never been accused of harming a patient while stoned. That’s not the case for Dr. Christopher Duntsch, though.
Dr. Duntsch once referred to himself as “the best neurosurgeon in Dallas.” However, patients like Jeff Cheney would bet against that any day of the week.
In the video, Cheney explains his heartbreaking story – he went in to see Dr. Duntsch for routine back surgery and woke up partially paralyzed. Cheney claims Dr. Duntsch was under the influence during the operation.
“He turned me from a strong, healthy man into a crippled man,” Cheney said.
And there are about a dozen other patients alleging Duntsch paralyzed them – turning some into paraplegics, some into quadriplegics and confining some to a wheelchair, all because of botched surgeries in which it’s believed Dr. Duntsch was stoned.
Duntsch, who’s facing lawsuits, has been accused of….
- drinking at work
- stashing vodka under his desk
- using LSD
- using cocaine
Duntsch hasn’t been charged with a crime but his license was revoked because he “violated the standard of care.”
Airline pilots and school bus drivers are required to take random drug tests – doctors are NOT. That’s hard to believe, which is why lawmakers in California are working to make it a requirement for doctors with hospital privileges.
Medical malpractice is a scary thing, and it’s a real problem in the US. That’s why I’ve covered it so thoroughly recently with blog posts and a video series. As a firm with a medical malpractice lawyer Memphis, TN turns to with their biggest claims, we’ve dealt with a broad range of cases that include surgical errors, birth injuries, and misdiagnoses.
If you’ve been injured due to the negligence of a doctor, nurse or any other medical professional, we’d love to speak to you. You deserve compensation for your damages and the medical professional needs to be held accountable. Our team of personal injury attorneys will fight to make sure you get that compensation.
To speak to one of our attorneys, free of charge, you can contact us today by calling (901) 327-1212 or by filling out one of our online contact forms.