More patients join suit against local foot doctor

Petty, who is also facing 31-count indictment, accused of performing unnecessary surgeries, treatments

A civil lawsuit accusing a local foot doctor of performing unnecessary surgeries that left patients in chronic pain and in need of corrective treatment has been amended to include additional former patients.

When the suit was initially filed in Bowie County in December by Texarkana lawyer David Carter, the complaint sought damages on behalf of two of podiatrist Gregg Petty’s former patients, Mary Jane McCoy and Laura Yohe. Since then Carter has twice amended the complaint to add two additional plaintiffs, Tammy Salinas and Catherine Ann Rone. The women all sought treatment from Petty at Dr. Petty’s Foot Clinic in Texarkana, Texas. Petty now practices primarily at a clinic in Frisco, Texas.

The amended complaint filed last week alleges Petty diagnosed McCoy, Yohe and Salinas as having foot tumors when they did not. Rone alleges Petty diagnosed her with a bone spur in her right foot. Petty began treating McCoy in August 2014 and saw her 12 times between Sept. 27 and Dec. 17, 2014, according to the complaint. After undergoing treatments including injections and surgery, McCoy claims she was left with permanent injury and chronic pain.

McCoy claims Petty refused to continue treating her in December 2014 and that she had to undergo extensive treatments from other doctors to address the suffering and problems Petty’s actions created. McCoy alleges Petty refused to give her complete copies of her

medical records in December 2014, in violation of Texas law.

Yohe claims Petty diagnosed her as having tumors in her right foot in October 2014 and treated her, including with surgery, until March 2015. Like McCoy, Yohe claims Petty’s treatment left her needing corrective surgeries by other doctors.

Salinas claims Petty diagnosed her as having “huge tumors” on the bottom of her left foot in December 2014. Like McCoy and Yohe, Salinas claims Petty’s treatment left her needing corrective treatment by other doctors to fix the damage Petty allegedly caused.

Rone accuses Petty of performing unnecessary surgeries on her right foot to treat a bone spur. Like the other plaintiffs, Rone claims she has sought treatment from other doctors to correct Petty’s alleged malpractice.

The civil suit is pending before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Dallas lawyer Stan Thiebaud filed a response to the original complaint denying Petty is guilty of any wrongdoing and asking that the cases be severed so that each of the complaining patients’ claims are addressed separately.

Petty is accused of criminal wrongdoing as well. Last year a 31-count indictment was issued by a federal grand jury in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas alleging Petty bilked the U.S. government out of Medicare dollars by billing medical procedures for patients who were dead at the time he claimed to have treated them at his Texarkana clinic.

Counts 1 through 13 of the indictment allege Petty submitted claims for treatments such as patient exams, X-rays, physical therapy, foot and ankle strapping, injections and ultrasounds on four people who had died prior to the dates of service listed on the claims submitted. One of the patients died Aug. 14, 2010, but Petty allegedly submitted four claims for services June 29, 2011.

Another patient died Dec. 30, 2010, and Petty allegedly billed Medicare three times under that patient’s health insurance claim number for services rendered July 11, 2011. Petty allegedly billed Medicare for four services Dec. 1, 2011, for a patient who died Jan. 11, 2010. Medicare received two bills from Petty with a June 25, 2012, date of service for a patient who died June 14, 2012.

Counts 14 through 17 accuse Petty of billing Medicare for therapeutic exercises for patients who “were never treated, but instead were given instructions to conduct therapeutic exercises on their own,” the indictment states.

Counts 18 through 22 allege Medicare received bills from Petty for electronic stimulation treatments that were delivered by unqualified staff and his teenage son using a machine called a MicroVas that is not approved for Medicare funding.

“Petty and others acting at his direction caused to be submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare by representing on claim forms that certain treatments had been rendered by Petty personally or by a physical therapist working under his direction when, in fact, an unqualified staff member or Petty’s teenage son were actually performing the treatments,” the indictment states. “No physical therapist worked at the clinic or under Petty’s direction.”

Counts 23 through 31 accuse Petty of aggravated identity theft involving nine stolen identities. Petty allegedly used names and health insurance claim numbers during the commission of felony health care fraud.

Petty’s indictment includes a notice from the government to seek a judgment of $157,660. The indictment alleges Petty submitted claims for more than $600,000, but that he was reimbursed a lower amount.

Counts 1 through 22, which allege health care fraud, are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both. Nine counts of aggravated identity theft are each punishable by a mandatory two-year federal prison term that must be served consecutively to any other sentence. A person convicted of aggravated identity theft is not eligible for probation. A fine up to $250,000 is possible on each of the identity theft counts, as well.

Petty pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment hearing in June 2016. He is scheduled for trial May 22 before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in Texarkana’s downtown federal building.