Christopher Duntsch

After leaving Dallas Medical Center, Duntsch received a job at an outpatient clinic named Legacy Surgery Center. Meanwhile, Methodist Hospital in Dallas, where Duntsch had applied for a job, reported him to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Even after this report, Duntsch was hired by University General Hospital in Dallas in the spring of 2013. Soon afterward, he severely maimed Jeff Glidewell after mistaking part of his neck muscle for a tumor, severing one of his vocal cords, cutting a hole in his esophagus, slicing an artery and leaving a surgical sponge embedded in his throat.[5] Kirby was rushed in to repair the damage, and later described what he found after opening Glidewell back up as the work of a "crazed maniac." He later told Glidewell that it was clear Duntsch had tried to kill him. Glidewell was left with only one vocal cord and was partially paralyzed on his left side.[9]

Under heavy lobbying from Henderson and Kirby, the Texas Medical Board suspended Duntsch's license on June 26, 2013, and subsequently revoked it on December 6. Duntsch moved to the Denver area, and his life went into a downward spiral. He was arrested for DUI in Denver, taken for a psychiatric evaluation in Dallas during one of his visits to see his children, and was arrested in Dallas for shoplifting.[5]

In March 2014, three former patients of Duntsch - Efurd, Kenneth Fennel, and Lee Passmore - filed separate federal lawsuits against Baylor Plano, alleging that the hospital allowed Duntsch to perform surgeries despite knowing that he was a dangerous physician.[11] Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a motion to intervene in the suits to defend Baylor Plano, citing the Texas legislature's 2003 statute that placed a medical malpractice cap of $250,000, along with the statute's removal of the term "gross negligence" from the definition of legal malice; the suit alleged that Baylor Plano made an average net profit of $65,000 on every spinal surgery performed by Duntsch.[12]

Henderson and Kirby feared that Duntsch could move elsewhere and still theoretically get a medical license. Convinced that he was a clear and present danger to the public, they urged the Dallas County district attorney's office to pursue criminal charges.[9] The inquiry went nowhere until 2015, when the statute of limitations on any potential charges was due to run out. Part of the problem was being able to prove that Duntsch's actions were willful and intentional as defined by Texas law. After interviewing dozens of Duntsch's patients and their survivors, prosecutors concluded that Duntsch's actions were indeed criminal, and nothing short of imprisonment would prevent him from practicing medicine again. As part of their investigation, they obtained the 2011 email in which Duntsch boasted about his desire to become a "cold blooded killer."[5][9][10]

In July 2015, approximately a year and a half after his license was revoked, Duntsch was arrested in Dallas and charged with six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (i.e., his hands and surgical tools), five counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, and one count of injury to a child, elderly or disabled person. The indictments were handed up just four months before the statute of limitations ran out.[13][9] The last charge was for the maiming and paralyzing of Efurd. Prosecutors put a high priority on that charge, as it provided the widest sentencing range, with Duntsch facing up to life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors sought a sentence long enough to ensure that Duntsch would never be able to practice medicine again.[14][7][5][9]

Over objections from Duntsch's lawyers, prosecutors called many of Duntsch's other patients to the stand in order to prove that his actions were intentional. According to his lawyers, Duntsch only realized how bad of a job he'd done as a surgeon when prosecution experts told the jury about his many blunders on the operating table.[5] His defense blamed Duntsch's actions on poor training and control by the hospitals.[15] After 13 days of trial, the jury needed only four hours to convict him for the maiming of Efurd.[14] On February 20, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison.[15][16]

All four hospitals that employed Duntsch have an ongoing civil case against them.[15] On December 11, 2018, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed Duntsch's conviction by a 2-1 split decision.[17] On May 8, 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused Duntsch’s petition for discretionary review.[18]

Duntsch, Texas Department of Criminal Justice #02139003, is housed at the O. B. Ellis Unit outside Huntsville. He will not be eligible for parole until 2045, when he will be 74 years old.[19]