The doctor had practiced medicine since 1988 and had been named in medical malpractice lawsuits at least ten times during his career. The medical malpractice lawsuits alleged medical negligence, medical malpractice, and/or wrongful deaths involving at least two mothers and five newborns. In June 2020, the Medical Board of California placed the doctor on probation after concluding its investigations into three deaths: a mother who hemorrhaged shortly after delivering a baby girl and a mother and her son who both died because she was not properly treated for high blood pressure during her pregnancy and delivery.
In 2021, the Medical Board of California again investigated the doctor following the 2019 deaths of a 23-year-old patient and her baby due to preeclampsia that the doctor and another physician failed to address during two medical appointments the week before the deaths. The baby was delivered by emergency C-section but died hours after his birth. The March 10, 2021 Accusation by the Medical Board of California charged the doctor with gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, and failure to maintain adequate and accurate medical records, for which the Board recommended revoking or suspending the doctor’s medical license.
After being advised that the doctor voluntarily agreed to surrender his medical license, a patient advocate with Consumer Watchdog stated, “I’m pleased that mothers in Bakersfield will be a little bit safer with Dr. Park no longer practicing. How many lives will be saved and how many mothers and babies will avoid harm because that particular physician will no longer be able to practice? At the end of the day that’s incredibly meaningful.”
The mother of the 23-year-old mother who lost her life along with the life of her baby stated, “I’m angry because my daughter’s life is gone, and Malakhi’s, and she deserved a life. I’m mad at both the doctors. Everybody failed her that whole week. It was just one mess after another.”
A reasonable question regarding the manner in which the Medical Board of California handled the three investigations into the doctor would be how many patients and babies may have been saved if the Board had enforced more stringent disciplinary actions against the doctor after its first investigation, in order to protect the public? After all, the stated Mission of the Medical Board of California is “to protect health care consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied health care professionals and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act, and to promote access to quality medical care through the Board’s licensing and regulatory functions.”
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