Woman’s sterilization was ‘gross negligence.’ Now California doctor will lose his medical license
The surgeon’s license of Hanford physician David Wayne Nelson is to be revoked by the California Medical Board after the board determined Nelson was guilty of gross negligence by performing a sterilization surgery on a 31-year-old female patient.
The order to revoke Nelson’s license will go into effect on April 27 after Nelson did not respond to accusations against him, according to the medical board, waiving his right to a hearing. Nelson received his license in 1974 and it expired in April 2022.
Efforts to reach Nelson for a response to the accusations and revocation of his license were unsuccessful.
In documents supporting the revocation, the board cited a declaration by Dr. David Speiser, who evaluated the patient’s medical records.
“Dr. Speiser’s conclusions in his declaration establish that respondent engaged in acts of gross negligence ... and committed an extreme departure from the standard of care in his treatment of (the patient) by performing a surgery inconsistent with (the patient’s) consent,” the document says.
“Specifically, respondent performed a bilateral tubal ligation, a sterilization surgery, when Patient A only consented to a diagnostic laparoscopy.”
The board said the surgery took place in September 2019, when both the patient and Nelson signed a consent form agreeing to only perform a diagnostic laparoscopy surgery. Instead, the board said, the sterilization surgery took place.
In May 2020, a board investigator reportedly attempted to interview Nelson about the surgery, but Nelson said that he was considering hiring an attorney. After repeated attempts to meet for the interview, Nelson ultimately refused to participate in June 2021, according to the board’s documents.
In addition to the revocation of his license to practice medicine and surgery, the board is seeking $23,515 from Nelson for the cost of investigating the case.
