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Doctor sued more than 100 times changes name in Dothan


Lance Griffin  / [email protected]
April 9, 2006


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A doctor who is a defendant in more than 100 medical malpractice lawsuits in only seven months of work in West Virginia and who was charged with stealing a medical logbook in Marianna, Fla., is no longer who he once was.

Dr. John Anderson King is now Christopher Wallace Martin after filing a formal petition to have his name changed at the Houston County Probate Office in Dothan March 14.

According to the name change record, King listed his current address as 303 Hazelwood Drive in Dothan, the same address as Dothan attorney Richard Crum. Crum represented King in 1999 after the Jackson County Hospital in Marianna accused him of stealing a medical logbook. He agreed to a pre-trial order dismissing the charge but requiring him to pay a fine and enroll in a supervision program, and left the hospital soon afterward.
Messages left for Crum at home and at his Dothan office were not returned.

King, who is licensed in 14 states - including Alabama - as an osteopathic physician, has led a medical career plagued with problems. King’s tenure at Putnam General Hospital in Hurricane, W.Va., lasted from December of 2002 to June of 2003. A story in the Charleston Gazette newspaper of West Virginia cited records showing King conducted more than 500 surgeries during that time, costing more than $7 million. He was suspended after a peer review of his surgeries concluded many of them were “unnecessary.” Most of the medical malpractice complainants claim chronic pain since King operated on them. Others claim non-sterile instruments were used in the surgeries.

The Gazette also chronicled King’s problems while practicing in Jasper, Ala., Oklahoma City and Marianna. He and a hospital in Jasper settled a medical malpractice suit for $550,000 in 1994 after a woman became a paraplegic following spinal anesthesia administered by King. He and two other doctors paid a $250,000 settlement in 2000 to a man who claimed medical problems following an operation at Jackson County Hospital. In 1995, he was fired from Hillcrest Health Center in Oklahoma City.

Also, the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners reprimanded King on Feb. 4 of this year, assessing a fine and ordering him to take a course on medical ethics.

Although King’s problems in the medical community are far from resolved, he has not been found to have made any false statements on his name change petition, according to Houston County Probate Judge Luke Cooley.

The probate office was able to confirm that King had been living at the 303 Hazelwood Drive residence for at least four weeks before applying for the name change. He also indicated on his name change petition that he did not have any outstanding judgments against him and had not been convicted of a felony. He did indicate he was involved in pending litigation in West Virginia relative to former employment there.

King’s reason listed for changing his name on the petition was “identity theft by former co-worker.”

Cooley said there is no requirement to do background checks on people who request name changes.




I don't even know what to say.

Edited to highlight for all you lazy numbnuts.

Apparently no one in Alabama gives a damn about their healthcare providers.