Doctor’s License Is Suspended
An administrative law judge ordered the emergency suspension of a Lynwood obstetrician’s medical license Thursday, finding that he was grossly negligent and unprofessional in his care of three liposuction patients, one of whom bled to death last June hours after an operation.
Dr. Patrick Chavis’ conduct “demonstrates an inability to perform some of the most basic duties required of a physician,†Judge Samuel D. Reyes wrote in an 11-page decision released two days after a hearing on the matter.
“His failure in this regard, although occurring only with lipectomy patients, is so fundamental that it evidences the inability to safely practice in other areas of medicine.â€
Neither Chavis, who runs a Lynwood clinic called New Attitude Body Sculpting, nor his attorney could be reached for comment late Thursday.
The doctor’s attorney, Robert Walker, argued at the suspension hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles that the incidents were a year old or more and did not warrant emergency action. Walker also contended that Chavis ought to be able to continue working as an obstetrician-gynecologist, if not as a cosmetic surgeon. He also hinted that the accusations against Chavis were concocted by a hospital that was biased against him.
The judge did not buy those arguments.
“Permitting [Chavis] to continue to engage in the practice of medicine in light of these violations will endanger the public health, safety and welfare,†Reyes wrote.
The judge did not rule on other allegations, added to the Medical Board of California’s complaint within the last week, that Chavis mistreated four other patients, three of whom had liposuction.
A spokeswoman for the medical board hailed the decision.
“We are gratified that the judge agreed with us that Dr. Chavis . . . presents an imminent danger to the public and should not be allowed to practice at all pending a full hearing on his case,†said medical board public affairs officer Candis Cohen.
A full accusation against Chavis, tantamount to an indictment in a criminal case, must be filed within 15 days. The doctor can request a hearing on the allegations, which could lead to permanent revocation of his license.
Patients, their advocates and their families have been critical of the medical board for taking nearly a year to investigate the allegations and seek the emergency suspension.
“I think it took too long, but it’s the right decision,†said Colleen M. Newkirk, a malpractice attorney representing two of the patients cited in the board allegations.
Cohen and medical board attorney Richard Avila said earlier that the process was slowed by the case’s complexity and trouble locating qualified expert witnesses.
Jimmy Cotton, husband of the patient who bled to death, said the judge’s decision was just the first step in a “long walk†to justice.
“I think it was long overdue,†Cotton said. “I see it as just a small victory in the walk. We still have a lot to do. . . . He has to have his license permanently revoked so he can never hurt anyone again.â€
Cotton, who accompanied his healthy, 43-year-old wife, Tammaria, to Chavis’ office on the day of her surgery, said he became frantic as her condition worsened, and was stunned by her death.
Chavis is accused of abandoning Tammaria Cotton, groggy and bleeding in his office, to check on another gravely injured liposuction patient suffering alone at his Compton home. Cotton was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. A third patient allegedly lost 70% of her blood after May 1996 liposuction surgery.
Chavis has not addressed the allegations publicly, but he sent a letter to Jimmy Cotton dated June 1, urging him to sue the hospital where his wife died and a doctor who attended her there. He suggested that Cotton’s perception of the case had been colored by attorney Newkirk, the medical board and the media.
