March 30, 1988: Habitual Quack Lets Teen Choke During Abortion

Dennis W. Miller

Eighteen-year-old Erna Mae Fisher was fearful and nervous when she went to 39-year-old Dr. Dennis W. Miller for an abortion at his practice in Kansas City, KS on March 30, 1988. Miller asked Erna's mother, Ocie, to come into the room and hold her hand to calm her.

According to Ocie, Miller gave Erna an anesthetic injection, then started a suction machine. Erna jerked upright and went rigid. She then coughed, vomited, choked, went into spasms, and collapsed, apparently lifeless.

An assistant ran for smelling salts while Miller continued with the abortion for ten minutes. Erna's color deteriorated and her pulse faded, then stopped. He then delayed another 10 minutes before calling an ambulance. 

When EMS arrived less than two minutes later, they found Erna's airway still full of vomit. Miller was making no attempt at resuscitation, but was holding Erna in his arms. He justified failing to check her airway or provide her with oxygen by saying, "Since I didn't realize what was going on, I didn't think it would have made any difference."

The young mother of an 11-month old daughter was beyond saving. She was declared dead on arrival at Bethany Medical Center.

Miller later admitted that he hadn't asked when Erna had last eaten before giving her pain medications that he knew could cause vomiting. He settled out-of-court with Erna's family for $475,000.

Even after Erna's death, Adele Hughey, director of Comprehensive Health for Women in Overland Park, KS, said that Miller had been performing abortions there since the early 1980s. "We have a lot of confidence in him. He knows how to provide excellent abortion services and is very good." 

Miller had failed the Missouri state medical exam three times before finally giving up. It took nine tries for him to pass the exam to be licensed in Kansas.

Miller had already settled six malpractice cases in the Kansas City area for a total of nearly $2 million. Another suit, settled for $2.2 million, involved botched obstetric care that caused a little boy to be born prematurely and suffer intellectual and physical disabilities as a result. 

Miller was able to keep his medical license and continued to practice, botching a delivery in 2006 which resulted in the death of the baby.  Once again he did not lose his license, but was only censured and fined. He was later censured for botching a C-section in 2009, nearly killing the mother; botching the care of a diabetic obstetric patient so badly in 2011 that she nearly died and her baby was injured during delivery; and botching a tumor removal so badly in 2012 that the woman died. This time they finally permanently suspended his license.

Watch Cuddles Can't Clear Dying Teen's Airway on YouTube.
Watch Cuddles Can't Clear Dying Teen's Airway on Rumble.

Sources: 

• "Mother sues doctor for daughter's death," The Parsons (KS) Sun, May 10, 1988
• "Doctor is sued in death," The Kansas City Times, May 10, 1988
• "Mother sues over death of daughter," Kansas City Times, May 10, 1988
• "Mother sues doctor for daughter's death," The Parsons Sun, May 10, 1988
• "A Kansas doctor's medical mishaps," The Kansas City Star, June 3, 1990
• "Doctor has high number of settlements," Manhattan (KS) Mercury, June 4, 1990
• "Report shows series of medical mishaps by Kansas doctor," Iola (KS) Register, June 4, 1990