In January, a 75-year-old retired barber who was upset over lingering health problems after prostate surgery allegedly shot to death a prominent California urologist in his office. Although details of the case are still sketchy, prosecutors have said the doctor killed was not the one who performed the prostate surgery — the alleged shooter was seeing the urologist for the first time on the day of the shooting. The doctor who performed the surgery has not been identified. A neighbor reported the suspect had complained to him that he was in worse shape after the surgery than before it. He said the doctor had rushed into surgery before exploring other treatments.
Of course, this is an extreme case, and it is not known whether the surgeon did anything that failed to meet professional standards of care. But it is important for every patient to know that there are legal means of redress when a patient believes that medical malpractice has taken place.