David Chao, the doctor who performed biceps surgery on Rey Mysterio, has been sued 18 times in San Diego Superior Court, including four times by Chargers players, for medical malpractice, negligence, or fraud, according to a 2005 story published by the San Union-Tribune. Five of the suits have been settled with undisclosed payouts to the plaintiffs, and eight others were dropped for various reasons.

Former NFL quarterback (and arguably the biggest flop in NFL draft history) Ryan Leaf is among the former players who claims his career was cut short because of malpractice by Chau’s company Oasis Sports Medical Group. He later dropped his claim against Chao and his former business partner because he didn’t feel like pursuing it.

Chao was also a codefendant in a case in which former Chargers team doctor Gary Losse accused of playing a role in “condoning and enabling Losse’s drug addiction,” according to the Union-Tribune. Three of the seven lawsuits filed against Chao stemming from that case had been settled by the time the 2005 story was published. Two resulted in patients receiving payouts after alleging they were maimed in surgery to the point they couldn’t return to their chosen line of work.

He was later issued a $1,000 citation by the state medical board for failing to maintain adequate and accurate medical records. To read the full story, visit the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Powell’s POV: We’ve all heard stories about surgeons being subjected to questionable malpractice suits. However, I found it interesting that former NFL players are among those who sued Chao, not to mention the fact that he's been accused of enabling a drug addiction.

The story also stated that if a doctor’s background includes a six-figure verdict, multiple lawsuits resulting in relatively lucrative settlements and a citation by the medical board, it raises a “red flag about the quality of that doctor’s care of his patients,” according to Ken Sigleman, a San Diego attorney and medical doctor in the Union-Tribune article. Nevertheless, the Chargers appear to be satisfied with his work, as he performed ACL surgery on starting quarterback Philip Rivers last month.

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