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Osteopath’s appointment a poke in the eye to Nevada Athletic Commission

John L. Smith
John L. Smith
Opinion
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These days osteopathic physician James Daniel Carpenter is known in boxing circles as a dapper new member of the Nevada Athletic Commission. He’s easy to spot in his tuxedo at ringside.

At the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, however, Carpenter is an osteopath with a checkered professional history dating back to 2004. After reading the documents on file with the board that licenses and regulates osteopaths, you might wonder whether Carpenter was properly vetted before joining the athletic commission.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, the man who appointed Carpenter to replace Pat Lundvall in October 2016, appears to have held no reservations about his qualifications. Sandoval noted in a news release Carpenter’s education background and his work as a personal physician and surgeon for the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team and many professional fighters.

“He has worked with the athletes before and after competition and will bring a unique perspective regarding their health and well-being,” Sandoval enthused. “He is an accomplished physician and I am confident his knowledge will benefit the top athletic regulatory body in Nevada.”

That’s a lot of confidence, especially considering Carpenter appears to have given the state osteopathic regulatory body fits at times since being licensed in Nevada in 1999.

A complaint filed July 13, 2004 by the state board alleged 28 counts malpractice, gross malpractice and unprofessional conduct dating back to 2001 -- fewer than two years after he was licensed to practice in the state. And the complaint didn’t document some isolated incident. It involved 11 patients who came to the osteopath for the treatment of everything from glaucoma, blurred vision, headaches, conjunctivitis and more. Carpenter’s “willful disregard of established medical procedures constitutes gross malpractice,” the complaint read.

He was accused of keeping unprofessional documentation, ordering unneeded tests, and billing for tests not administered. He “failed to exercise the degree of care, diligence, and skill ordinarily exercised by osteopathic physicians in good standing in the community in which he practices and committed malpractice,” the complaint alleged.

Although the complaint sought a public reprimand and even a license revocation or suspension, Carpenter managed to survive the investigation and a September 2005 hearing -- but not without a dressing down by the board.

Upon reviewing the findings of the investigation, board member Dr. Daniel Curtis observed that Carpenter’s professional credo appeared to be, “leave no patient uncharged.” Curtis added that the state had proven Carpenter ordered unnecessary tests. A dozen of the charges were sustained, and Carpenter’s “repeated acts of unprofessional conduct” were exposed. He was also found to have engaged in unethical conduct and was slapped with a two-year probation, which enabled him to keep on practicing.

It sounds like he needed it.

Contacted recently, Carpenter called himself a victim of politics and added in a statement that his license has never been suspended or revoked. He said he was the victim of “numerous unfair and untrue accusations that came because of an ongoing battle I had with a previous member of the Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine."

Sounds like something that could happen in Nevada.

Carpenter in 2006 was back before the board defending another unprofessional conduct complaint. He was accused of willfully making a false statement or submitting a forged or false document in his state license application. That’s a Category D felony, according to state documents, which if charged and proven in court could result in a sentence of from one to four years and a fine of up to $5,000.

He was accused of failing to list any malpractice claims made against him in the previous year. He also failed to inform the board that his osteopathic license had been revoked in Ohio in the wake of the Nevada findings.

From the look of things, Carpenter should have double-majored in law.

Carpenter, founder of Eye & Cosmetic Surgery in Las Vegas, wisely avoided another embarrassing hearing by agreeing to pay a $5,000 fine to settle that complaint.

Was that politics, too?

Politics aside, Carpenter also came out on the losing end of a 2009 medical negligence lawsuit filed on behalf of patient Israel Bari. In August 2010, a jury found for Bari, and awarded him $1.89 million after determining Carpenter was 100 percent at fault, according to court documents.

Looking decidedly on the bright side, Carpenter in his statement noted that he currently treats more than 8,000 patients in Southern Nevada and, as a lifelong boxing fan, has plenty of experience as a “private ringside physician.”

“I am committed to working to continue to make Las Vegas the fight capital of the world,” he said, adding that he’s taken steps to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Contacted Monday, athletic commission Chairman Anthony Marnell III had no comment. In a brief conversation Monday, Carpenter called his violations, “a big hassle a long time ago.”

It certainly was that.

But Carpenter’s presence on the commission reeks of a juice appointment and makes the state Attorney General’s Office and Sandoval look bad. Of course, it’s always possible Carpenter’s  past troubles could make him more empathetic when sitting in judgment of boxers and mixed martial arts fighters accused of violating state regulations.

Presuming Sandoval was properly informed, perhaps that’s what the governor was thinking when he looked past the embarrassing baggage and appointed Carpenter to the athletic commission.

For the record, nowhere in Sandoval’s enthusiastic press release were the words “negligence,” “repeated acts of unprofessional conduct” or “malpractice” mentioned.

John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.

“Vintage boxing gloves” by Paris on Ponce & Le Maison Rouge is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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