Did Surgeon and Medical Center Falsify Post-Op Records After Child's Death?

A Texas family claims that a surgeon was not only negligent in performing the surgery they say caused their young son's death, but also that he altered medical records to protect himself and his employer from a potential lawsuit.

The child, Robert Martin, underwent an outpatient procedure at Fort Duncan Medical Center in Eagle Pass, Texas, in 2010. According to Robert's parents, Edwin and Esther Martin, surgeon James H. Fowler, MD, severed both of the boy's internal carotid arteries during the surgery, which ultimately caused his death. Mr. and Mrs. Martin subsequently filed a wrongful death and survival suit against Dr. Fowler and his employer, Maverick County Hospital District, alleging negligence and gross negligence in Dr. Fowler's performance of the surgery and post-operative care.

The Martin family now alleges that Dr. Fowler was not only negligent, but that he "acted in concert" with Fort Duncan Medical Center in falsifying the surgery's operative report almost 2 weeks after the procedure, in an effort to "gain an economic advantage in the potential litigation of this action or to conceal material facts" that would implicate him and the center, according to court records.

The family alleges that Dr. Fowler added to his operative report and made changes to Robert's medical history, changing the records to reflect the performance of procedures that were neither performed nor intended.

Dr. Fowler moved to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that he is an employee of a governmental entity. A Texas appeals court recently reversed a trial court's order denying Dr. Fowler's and Maverick County Hospital District's motion to dismiss, and has dismissed Dr. Fowler as a defendant in the suit. The suit will now head to a trial court for further proceedings against the county hospital district, according to court documents.

Last June, the Martins added a new defendant, Fort Duncan Medical Center, to the lawsuit. The Martins alleged that Fort Duncan Medical Center was negligent in its credentialing of Dr. Fowler.

Attorneys for both parties did not respond to requests for comment.

Mark McGraw