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Bakersfield doctor who recently surrendered medical license had troubled medical and legal history

Medical Board of California

He surrendered his license of his own accord, more than 20 years after the first time the medical board accused him of gross negligence and incompetence but allowed him to keep practicing.

On December 30, Bakersfield obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Arthur Park surrendered his medical license in the midst of an ongoing state investigation into accusations of gross negligence within his medical practice. The investigation, launched by the Medical Board of California, followed the 2019 deaths of 23-year-old Demi Dominguez and her newborn son, both of whom died after Park and another doctor failed to act on the warning signs of the severe condition pre-eclampsia and failed to maintain appropriate medical records of her treatment in the days leading up to her death.

If you’ve ever worked with Dr. Arthur Park, or if you’re a former patient of his, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to reporter Kerry Klein at kerry@kvpr.org.

Most shocking, however, is that the 2021 investigation was the third time in more than 20 years that the medical board had accused Park of gross negligence, and the third time the board had begun investigating him after patients died in his care. He’s also been the defendant in nine lawsuits alleging professional negligence, medical malpractice or wrongful death.

In this interview, Valley Edition host Kathleen Schock speaks with KVPR reporter Kerry Klein about Dr. Arthur Park’s encounters with the medical and legal system that began in the late 1990s.

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.