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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/nj_spinal_surgeon_previously_c.html
Richard Kaul, shown on a News 12 program about spinal surgery, may face suspension stemming from accusations that he performed surgeries without proper training.
Eleven years ago, a London jury convicted Richard Kaul, an anesthesiologist, of negligent manslaughter after a woman he sedated went into cardiac arrest and later died.
The 14-day trial in 2001 included testimony that Kaul chatted on his phone and ordered a beeping monitor to be quieted during the tooth extraction procedure, all while the patients blood oxygen levels sank to a dangerous level.
Stripped of his medical license in England, Kaul began practicing medicine in New Jersey without disclosing his criminal conviction to the states licensing board, an omission that later resulted in a six-month suspension and subsequent probation.
Now, the 47-year-old Kaul faces another attempt to temporarily suspend his license. This time, state officials contend hes performed complex spinal surgeries in a number of clinics across the state without proper education or training.
The charges, outlined in a complaint filed last month by the state Attorney Generals Office, are scheduled to be heard today by the Board of Medical Examiners in Trenton.
Kauls attorney, Bob Conroy, told The Star-Ledger Tuesday his client has agreed to an interim consent order that prohibits him from performing spinal surgeries until further review. The consent order, which was described by Conroy and has not been made public, includes no admission of guilt and allows Kaul to continue administering anesthesia and performing minor surgical procedures, he said.
"Theres going to be further fact-finding that will happen at a later time," Conroy said. "You have to remember here, this is a lot like going before the grand jury. They bring lots of charges. Not a lot of them hold water."
Jeff Lamm, spokesman for the Division of Consumer Affairs, the agency that oversees the board, said he could not comment on any settlement.
According to the complaint, Kauls "flagrant disregard of his own lack of training and expertise and his continuing performance of surgical spinal procedures for which he is not qualified places the public in clear and imminent danger."
A board-certified anesthesiologist, Kaul did not receive any training in spinal surgeries during his residency at Albert Einstein-Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
He later took continuing education courses on spinal surgical procedures, including some that involved cadaver training. He also studied minimally invasive spinal surgeries during a two-week fellowship in Seoul, South Korea, a trip that "falls far short" of the training needed for spinal surgeries, the complaint states.
Kaul owns the Spine and Rehabilitation Center, a Pompton Lakes facility that, according to the complaint, became "a one-room surgical office" in March 2011. He also has practiced medicine at a number of facilities across the state, including locations in Clifton, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Bloomfield, Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City.
Officials say doctors who operate in one-room clinics must have hospital privileges or board permission to perform that surgery. Kaul has neither, according to the complaint.
Kaul, a tan, well-built man with a shaved head, has promoted his practice through local television appearances and charitable involvement.
His website includes a lengthy resume and video clips describing his founding of a charitable endeavor that coordinates spinal surgeries in Africa. Additionally, Kauls website states hes donated $500,000 in services to The Spine Foundation for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hes also amassed millions of dollars in real estate.
Property records show Kaul owns a 7,300-square-foot townhouse on Manhattans Upper West Side. The building with four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a penthouse loft is valued at more than $9 million, records show. In 2003, he bought an expansive home in Bernardsville, Somerset County, for $2.25 million.
That real estate is now at risk. The federal government this year has filed more than $3 million in liens against the properties in Manhattan and Bernardsville.
Kaul is one of two doctors scheduled for disciplinary action before the Board of Medical Examiners today. The other, Roger Lallemand Jr., was the subject of a Sunday Star-Ledger story outlining allegations he indiscriminately prescribed painkillers and anabolic steroids. Lallemand is one of 131 physicians registered to take part in the states medical marijuana program.
Richard Kaul, shown on a News 12 program about spinal surgery, may face suspension stemming from accusations that he performed surgeries without proper training.
Eleven years ago, a London jury convicted Richard Kaul, an anesthesiologist, of negligent manslaughter after a woman he sedated went into cardiac arrest and later died.
The 14-day trial in 2001 included testimony that Kaul chatted on his phone and ordered a beeping monitor to be quieted during the tooth extraction procedure, all while the patients blood oxygen levels sank to a dangerous level.
Stripped of his medical license in England, Kaul began practicing medicine in New Jersey without disclosing his criminal conviction to the states licensing board, an omission that later resulted in a six-month suspension and subsequent probation.
Now, the 47-year-old Kaul faces another attempt to temporarily suspend his license. This time, state officials contend hes performed complex spinal surgeries in a number of clinics across the state without proper education or training.
The charges, outlined in a complaint filed last month by the state Attorney Generals Office, are scheduled to be heard today by the Board of Medical Examiners in Trenton.
Kauls attorney, Bob Conroy, told The Star-Ledger Tuesday his client has agreed to an interim consent order that prohibits him from performing spinal surgeries until further review. The consent order, which was described by Conroy and has not been made public, includes no admission of guilt and allows Kaul to continue administering anesthesia and performing minor surgical procedures, he said.
"Theres going to be further fact-finding that will happen at a later time," Conroy said. "You have to remember here, this is a lot like going before the grand jury. They bring lots of charges. Not a lot of them hold water."
Jeff Lamm, spokesman for the Division of Consumer Affairs, the agency that oversees the board, said he could not comment on any settlement.
According to the complaint, Kauls "flagrant disregard of his own lack of training and expertise and his continuing performance of surgical spinal procedures for which he is not qualified places the public in clear and imminent danger."
A board-certified anesthesiologist, Kaul did not receive any training in spinal surgeries during his residency at Albert Einstein-Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
He later took continuing education courses on spinal surgical procedures, including some that involved cadaver training. He also studied minimally invasive spinal surgeries during a two-week fellowship in Seoul, South Korea, a trip that "falls far short" of the training needed for spinal surgeries, the complaint states.
Kaul owns the Spine and Rehabilitation Center, a Pompton Lakes facility that, according to the complaint, became "a one-room surgical office" in March 2011. He also has practiced medicine at a number of facilities across the state, including locations in Clifton, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Bloomfield, Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City.
Officials say doctors who operate in one-room clinics must have hospital privileges or board permission to perform that surgery. Kaul has neither, according to the complaint.
Kaul, a tan, well-built man with a shaved head, has promoted his practice through local television appearances and charitable involvement.
His website includes a lengthy resume and video clips describing his founding of a charitable endeavor that coordinates spinal surgeries in Africa. Additionally, Kauls website states hes donated $500,000 in services to The Spine Foundation for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hes also amassed millions of dollars in real estate.
Property records show Kaul owns a 7,300-square-foot townhouse on Manhattans Upper West Side. The building with four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a penthouse loft is valued at more than $9 million, records show. In 2003, he bought an expansive home in Bernardsville, Somerset County, for $2.25 million.
That real estate is now at risk. The federal government this year has filed more than $3 million in liens against the properties in Manhattan and Bernardsville.
Kaul is one of two doctors scheduled for disciplinary action before the Board of Medical Examiners today. The other, Roger Lallemand Jr., was the subject of a Sunday Star-Ledger story outlining allegations he indiscriminately prescribed painkillers and anabolic steroids. Lallemand is one of 131 physicians registered to take part in the states medical marijuana program.
I think some of us are doing them...
