21-07-2025
Colorado surgeon asked cataract patient's wife eerie question after letting him die while playing 'music bingo', lawsuit claims
A surgeon asked a cataract patient's wife if she believed in God before telling her the heart-wrenching news that her husband had died during the routine procedure, according to a now-settled lawsuit.
Bart Writer, 56, went in for the surgery at InSight Surgery Center in Lone Tree, Colorado - about 30 minutes outside of Denver - in February 2023, but he never made it out alive after his heart stopped on the operating table.
During the eye procedure, Writer's surgeon, Dr. Carl Stark Johnson, and his anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Urban, did not realize their patient was without oxygen because they were too busy playing 'music bingo,' the lawsuit, obtained by KUSA 9News, stated.
After staff from the surgical center drew diagrams of how the operating room looked that day, investigators and Writer's wife, Chris, concluded it was a devastating accident until another doctor reached out to the widow and shared shocking details.
'And he goes, "I'm telling you this because I think that's a major distraction",' Chris, Writer's wife of 23 years, recalled as the doctor told her about the game Johnson and Urban would often play while operating.
The absurd tip she got from that physician led Chris to hire lawyers to take depositions of both Johnson and Urban to see if it was true.
'Were you playing "music bingo" during Bart Writer's February 3, 2023, cataract surgery?,' the attorneys asked. Johnson and Urban both confirmed it was factual, per the deposition video.
After her husband died, Chris was met outside by Dr. Johnson, who queried her if she believed in God, then asked her: 'Would you like to pray with me?' before telling her Writer was gone.
By the time they realized he was not breathing, Writer was rushed to Sky Ridge Medical Center - just a little over a mile away. An autopsy revealed his cause of death was cardiac arrest.
Investigators found that staff at InSight Surgery Center noticed abnormal vital signs from Writer 11 minutes into the surgery, according to notes reviewed by the outlet.
Bodycam footage from that day showed paramedics responding to the surgery center as several staff members watched on.
The game itself was played routinely during surgeries and consisted of those in the operating room listening to songs from Urban's cell phone, staff said, per the lawsuit.
'We continually listen to the radio and we categorize the songs,' Johnson explained.
The pair said they would often listen to music from the 70s and 80s while they played the game.
'So as an example, with the 70s groups, [if the] Bee Gees were to sing a song, that would be a letter B,' Urban shared on the virtual disposition call.
The group, including the doctors, would then carry on until they spelt out the B-I-N-G-O from other artists, including N for Neil Young and G for Gladys Knight, among others, the legal filing detailed.
After learning her husband died from cardiac arrest, Chris couldn't understand how that could be the case.
'It just didn't make sense. Bart was 56. I mean, we skied every weekend. We bike together, we hike together,' she said.
Just when she thought she had already learned the worst about how her husband died, Chris was shocked when nurses and further depositions revealed it was common for staff to turn alarms down or even off during procedures, she told the outlet.
'We learned from the nurses and from the depositions that it wasn't unusual for them to turn off the audible alarms,' she said. 'And that particular machine allows that to happen.'
Because the alarms were turned off during his surgery and Writer was covered, nobody noticed his skin turning blue from the lack of oxygen.
'The machine allowed for that to happen,' said Chris.
Dr. Johnson settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount as his attorney said he relied on Dr. Urban to 'monitor the patient's condition' that day, and that he was the one who silenced the alarms without his knowledge.
'Dr. Johnson relies on the anesthesiologist to provide the proper dose and type of anesthesia, to properly monitor the patient's condition, and to communicate all relevant information to the surgeon including if they have elected, for whatever reason, to silence the audible alarms.
'During the cataract surgery, Dr. Johnson is looking through a microscope for the entire procedure. Therefore, he must rely on the surgical team for many aspects of surgical care.
'Nothing in Dr Johnson's experience would explain, justify or have predicted Dr Urban's decisions on that day,' his lawyer added.
Johnson also acknowledged the relationship he had with Writer, as his statement continued: 'What happened to Mr. Writer was a tragedy made even more painful because he was someone I had known for many years,
'We were all devastated by his death. Our prayers and sympathy are still and have always been with the Writer family. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about Bart.'
Through his attorney, Urban said he stands by the care he provided that day and that he disagreed with Johnson's recollection of what happened.
Now, Chris mourns her husband and father of her child everyday, especially after the couple planned to walk out of the doctor's office that day to enjoy dinner.
She recalled: 'We had just talked about what we were gonna do for dinner that night. He just never met anyone that he didn't like and that didn't like him, you know, it's just that's who he was.
'My son is without his dad, his best friend. I'm without Bart, my guy. Yeah, it makes me angry. It makes me sad. I'm sad. I'm mad. I'm just disgusted. I'm just infuriated,' Chris said as she cried.
The couple would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on July 15.
In a recent heartwarming post, Chris wrote of her late husband alongside their wedding picture.
'He was the love of my life, my person, my cheerleader, the "bandleader" for our family and his many friends and my best friend.
'It's all still so unbelievable. Gone too soon and forever in our hearts....,' she said.
