Richard Azizkhan, MD, the president and CEO of Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., who faces a retaliation lawsuit from two surgeons who reported patient safety concerns, was also named in 528 lawsuits in Ohio, according to a report from local NBC affiliate WOWT.
Dr. Azizkhan was named in a lawsuit filed Jan. 4 by two surgeons at Children's Hospital who allege they were wrongfully suspended days after reporting concerns about the competency of a colleague. Mark Puccioni, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon, and Jason Miller, MD, a plastic surgeon, allege they reported concerns about fellow surgeon Adam Conley, MD, multiple times — most recently after one of Dr. Conley's patients died during surgery. Drs. Puccioni and Miller were suspended shortly after they filed the reports. They also allege Dr. Azizkhan and Dr. Conley intentionally tried to destroy their reputations and practices.
News reports published Jan. 7 linked Dr. Azizkhan to 528 lawsuits in Ohio that are related to Atiq Durrani, MD. Dr. Durrani was a spine surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital who reportedly fled the country after pleading not guilty to 46 federal charges. He has been named in hundreds of lawsuits related to wrongful spine surgeries. Dr. Azizkhan is also named in the lawsuits against Dr. Durrani and Cincinnati Children's. Dr. Azizkhan served as surgeon-in-chief at the Cincinnati hospital until 2015.
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