Imminent Danger is a five-part investigative podcast series from the WNYC newsroom and NYC NOW podcast about an OB/GYN who managed to get medical licenses in multiple states after health officials in New York declared him to be an “imminent danger” to the public and revoked his license decades earlier.

After leaving the Oklahoma City area, Dr. Thomas J. Byrne started working at a new hospital a few hours away, in a rural area in the northeast corner of the state. It was there that Sue Ackerson came under his care for a hysterectomy and quickly noticed something wasn’t right after the surgery. She would be one of four women to file lawsuits against Dr. Byrne for incidents that occurred over the span of a year.

Ackerson’s attorney would later discover that the medical director of the hospital was actively concerned about Byrne and kept a personal file on him. What is a hospital obligated to do with that kind of information?

More than 30 years ago, Congress designed a system to help state medical boards and hospitals track physicians nationally, but patient safety experts say that system is full of loopholes — including ones that may help explain how Byrne’s record may have avoided some red flags.

This series is supported by the Pulitzer Center.

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NYC NOW is a podcast of the most up-to-date local news from across New York City and the region. With three updates a day, every weekday, you'll get breaking news, top headlines and in-depth reporting. It’s all the news you need to know right now to make New York work for you. Subscribe to NYC NOW wherever you listen to podcasts: https://bit.ly/3LzuerS

Illustration by Golden Cosmos.
Video by Kim Nowacki.