Is Dr. Death based on a true story?

The 2021 drama is airing on Channel 4 from this week, but is it based on real events?

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Wednesday, 21 June 2023 at 12:00 am

Sometimes the TV schedule allows for small blessings so if you didn’t have a chance to grab a show the first time round, you’ll be able to watch it at another point.

This is the case with Dr. Death, the hit true crime drama that originally aired on StarzPlay here in the UK in September 2021. Well, if you didn’t have the chance to stream it then, the chilling eight-part drama is now airing on Channel 4 and All4.

Of course, with even more eyes on the drama, there will be the inevitable question of whether or not the series is based on a true story. The series is based on Wondery’s hit podcast of the same name and is indeed inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, played in the TV show by Joshua Jackson.

But what exactly happened in the case? Read on for everything you need to know about the true story behind Dr. Death.

Is Dr. Death based on a true story?

"Joshua
Joshua Jackson as Christopher Duntsch in Dr. Death.
Barbara Nitke/Peacock

Yes, Dr. Death is indeed based on a true story.

As put by the official synopsis, the series is based on the “terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a rising star in the Dallas medical community. Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed.”

Unfortunately, as is the case of many true crime dramas like this one, Dr. Death also seeks to underline the fact that Duntsch was allowed to continue his work as a doctor for so long due to systemic failures.

The series follows Dr. Kirby and Dr. Henderson (played by Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin respectively) as they struggle to get their complaints about Duntsch heard by the Texas Medical Board. They’ve spotted a series of what should be routine operations ending up with the patients being permanently maimed or dead. As we follow their own investigation into Duntsch, we also see how Duntsch continued to be hired by medical practices.

In reality, of the 37 patients Duntsch operated on in Dallas over approximately two years, 33 were hurt or killed in the process, as reported by ProPublica. The harmed patients either suffered with nerve damage, paralysis or worse, died from blood loss or a stroke caused by significant injuries caused on the operating table.

One of Duntsch’s patients included his childhood friend, Jerry Summers, who went in for a spinal operation at Baylor Medical Center with Duntsch and came out of the operation with quadriplegia.

Summers died in 2021 from an infection that was linked to complications from the operation.

Duntsch settled in Dallas in 2011 and joined the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in Plano as a practising physician. But the position at Baylor Regional Medical Center (Baylor-Piano) also afforded him the opportunity to operate on a variety of patients.

It was quickly revealed that Duntsch was a major danger, botching simple procedures. For instance, he was tasked with fixing a woman’s compressed nerve but cut an important vessel that led to her bleeding to death.

While Baylor-Piano conducted their investigation into reports from his colleagues, Duntsch resigned voluntarily in 2012 and so wasn’t technically fired. Because of this voluntary resignation, Baylor-Piano didn’t have to report Duntsch’s actions to the National Practitioner Data Bank and because of this, reports about his malpractice went unlogged.

He continued his work elsewhere, moving on to the Dallas Medical Center and even during his initial starting period where his reference checks were being conducted, he started operating.

What happened to Dr. Christopher Duntsch?

"Alec
Alec Baldwin as Robert Henderson and Christian Slater as Randall Kirby in Dr. Death.
Barbara Nitke/Peacock

The Texas Medical Board started receiving a slew of medical complaints about Duntsch from his work at the Dallas Medical Center. Multiple doctors sent in complaints and Dr. Henderson was often called in to fix Duntsch’s mistakes, prompting Dr. Henderson to demand for Duntsch to be stopped.

The last hospital to employ Duntsch was University General (which is now closed) and yet another significant botched operation came when Duntsch mistook the patient’s neck muscle for a tumour, which Dr. Kirby referred to as “attempted murder”.

In June 2013, Duntsch had his medical licence suspended and then fully revoked later in December 2013. His personal life fell apart as he turned to drink – as depicted in the series – and turned to shoplifting. He was eventually indicted on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of causing harm to an elderly person.

Several of his former patients took the stand but a vital piece of evidence came when Duntsch’s former assistant and ex-girlfriend shared a 2011 email from Duntsch that appeared to outline his true motivations.

His email stated: “Unfortunately, you cannot understand that I am building an empire and I am so far outside the box that the Earth is small and the sun is bright. I am ready to leave the love and kindness and goodness and patience that I mix with everything else that I am and become a cold blooded killer.”

In 2017, Duntsch was found guilty of injuring an elderly patient in a botched surgery and sentenced to life imprisonment. As it stands now, he has been refused an appeal for review of his case and the four hospitals that employed him also have outstanding civil cases against him.