Imminent Danger Ep 4: One Doctor and a Trail of Injured Women

After leaving the Oklahoma City area, Dr. Thomas J. Byrne started working at a new hospital a few hours away, in a rural area in the northeast corner of the state. It was there that Sue Ackerson came under his care for a hysterectomy and quickly noticed something wasn’t right after the surgery. She would be one of four women to file lawsuits against Dr. Byrne for incidents that occurred over the span of a year. 

Ackerson’s attorney would later discover that the medical director of the hospital was actively concerned about Byrne and kept a personal file on him. What is a hospital obligated to do with that kind of information? 

More than thirty years ago, Congress designed a system to help state medical boards and hospitals track physicians nationally but patient safety experts say that system is full of loopholes – including ones that may help explain how Byrne’s record may have avoided some red flags.

Listen to our earlier episodes:

Episode 1: Wrongful Death

Episode 2: License Revoked

Episode 3: The Gatekeepers