OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) -- — The Children's Hospital president is part of another lawsuit against a doctor accused of performing unnecessary surgeries for profit. Doctor Richard Azizkhan, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital, was previously the Chief of Surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and is accused of covering up the problems.
This month Doctors Jason Miller and Mark Puccioni sue Children's Hospital, Doctor Adam Conley, and President Azizkhan. Court documents allege Doctors Miller and Puccioni were suspended for bringing concerns about Dr. Conley's qualifications to perform neurosurgery and were ultimately forced out for no reason.
Within the last two months Dr. Azizkhan is sued by many former patients of Doctor Abubakar Atiq Durrani in Cincinnati. Doctor Durrani is accused of performing hundreds of unnecessary spine surgeries on juveniles and using drugs that weren't approved from 2007-2013. Durrani was indicted in 2013 on federal charges and fled to Pakistan. The lawsuit alleges Doctor Azizkhan didn't stop him.
"He was the highest clinical revenue faculty member in surgery," Dr. Azizkhan is quoted in the documents.
"The lawsuit alleges that he covered it up, that he fraudulently covered it up, this Dr. Durrani's misdeeds because Dr. Durrani produced a lot of income for this hospital," said Tom White, attorney for Doctors Miller and Puccioni.
Other surgeons have resigned their privileges from Children's Hospital as well.
Dr. Azizkhan has asked for the Ohio lawsuits to be dismissed.
