re: Nick Fairley career may be over due to a heart condition

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Dr. David Chao

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1995

Chao pleads guilty to an alcohol related reckless driving charge.

1998

Gary Losse, Chao's business partner, is fired as Chargers team physician amid allegations that he has a prescription drug addiction. Chao subsequently becomes Chargers doctor.

1999

Former Chargers defensive back Mark Montreuil accuses Chao of condoning and facilitating Losse's drug use while Losse treated his knee injury. Montreuil would never play in the NFL again.

2002

The state medical board fines Chao $1,000 for failing to maintain adequate and accurate records after allegations surfaced that Chao illegally wrote Losse prescriptions.

Former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf sues Chao for alleged negligence in treating Leaf's wrist and shoulder injuries. Leaf would later drop his suit for unknown reasons.

Former Chargers linebacker Jon Haskins sues Chao for allegedly misdiagnosing a knee injury that ended Haskins' NFL career. Haskins dropped his suit suddenly on the eve of trial to take a college coaching job.

Abby Rueckert sues Chao, alleging he negligently severed her artery during surgery. A jury verdict awards her $460,000 in damages. SeaWorld performer

Jeff Warner reaches a settlement with Chao in his suit for alleged malpractice. Chao prescribed a medical device that caused Warner to develop non-freezing cold injury; Chao then misdiagnosed the injury, which nearly caused Warner to need a leg amputation.

2007

Chao pleads guilty to a drunken driving charge and receives five years probation and a $1,800 fine.

2009

Tom Fagan reaches a settlement with Chao for an undisclosed amount. Fagan accused Chao of carelessness in treatment after his leg needed to be amputated following a knee replacement surgery that Chao performed.

2010

Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents execute a search warrant on the Chargers facilities. Reports circulate that the investigation is due to suspicions that Chao has written himself at least 108 drug prescriptions since 2008. The investigation ended in 2012 without any sanctions or charges being issued. Note: One month prior to this investigation former Chargers defensive back Kevin Ellison was found in possession of a 100 Vicodins.

2011

An arbitration panel awards Kathleen Adams $2,347,197 in her suit against Chao for malpractice. Adams needed emergency surgery after Chao lacerated her artery, vein and nerves during hip surgery.

2012

NFLPA formally requests a review of Chao's qualifications. An independent panel of three doctors would later exonerate Chao.

The state medical board publicly reprimands Chao for not disclosing his prior incidents of drunken driving on his application to be licensed as a "qualified medical evaluator."

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Whitney Engler, 15, underwent a minor procedure to clean debris from her knee in 2003. Following the successful surgery, Chao prescribed a mechanized cryotherapy device, the Polar Care 500, to aid Engler in her recovery. Chao advised her to use the device continuously and as much as possible. Unbeknownst to Engler, Chao and his clinic sold and rented the Polar Care 500 for profit and encouraged patients to use it as much as possible in order to maximize the profits.
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Chao made the same mistakes all over again. He told Engler to use the device continuously and when Engler started to show the same exact symptoms Warner exhibited, Chao once again misdiagnosed the injury and told Engler to continue to use the device. When Engler's injury progressively worsened exactly like Warner's did, Chao claimed to have never seen anything like it before. Engler would eventually learn of the incident involving Warner and file a malpractice suit.

In 2012, a jury verdict awarded Engler $5,696,220 against Chao.

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