AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Texas officials have reportedly revoked the license of a Houston orthopedic surgeon and ordered him to pay a record $845,000 fine.
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners took the action Friday against Eric Heston Scheffey, who has been sued more than 60 times and accused by patients' relatives of causing four deaths and two suicides, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The fine is the largest in state medical board history.
Scheffey, who has spent more than half of his professional career on board-ordered probation, has a colorful reputation. After failing his orthopedic certification exams three times, he was arrested in 1985 after 30 grams of cocaine were found in his Jaguar. In 1986, the board placed Scheffey on 10 years' probation for "intemperate use" of drugs.
Scheffey, who can appeal the board's action, has been one of the top earners in the state's workers compensation program, living in a $5.8 million residence and owning a private jet.
