July 12, 2018
Heart Surgeon Bud Frazier Sues Houston Chronicle and ProPublica Over Story
Renowned heart transplant surgeon Dr. O.H. “Bud” Frazier has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Houston Chronicle, ProPublica and the two reporters from those publications who reported and wrote a May 24, 2018 story entitled “A Pioneering Heart Surgeon’s Secret History of Research Violations, Conflicts of Interest and Poor Outcomes.”
Filed by well-known Houston attorney David Berg of Berg and Androphy, the lawsuit accuses Charles Ornstein of ProPublica and Michael Hixenbaugh of the Chronicle of not exercising due diligence in their reporting, of basing their story on unreliable sources and of ignoring evidence that was provided to them that would prove their accusations false. Hearst Newspapers, parent company of the Chronicle, is also named in the suit.