According to documents received by the El Paso Politics, the Texas Medical Board has opened an investigation into Roberto Canales. Also, the El Paso Politics received a copy of a lawsuit filed by Roberto Canales in February against Anthony Buzbee and the Buzbee Law Firm. Buzbee is representing David Saucedo and his wife against Canales and the El Paso Children’s Hospital.
As the El Paso Politics reported on August 10, the Saucedos have filed a lawsuit against the El Paso Children’s Hospital, Roberto Canales and Rodolfo Fierro-Stevens over the death of their three-year-old daughter. The lawsuit alleges “grossly negligent care” by the two doctors and the children’s hospital. The lawsuit also alleges that Canales did not have the “necessary training and credentialing” to be treating patients at the hospital. An affidavit by a former El Paso Children’s Hospital supervising doctor states that Roberto Canales “presents a real danger to his patients and should be removed from the practice of medicine.”
Texas Tech Doctors Sidelined Temporarily
The El Paso Inc. reported yesterday that Texas Tech Health Services Center earlier this year objected to having its medical school students excluded from the children’s hospital after EPCH forged an exclusive agreement with Roberto Canales’ medical practice for his pediatric patients. According to the El Paso Inc. article, Texas Tech and the children’s hospital subsequently reached an agreement where Texas Tech would continue to work with EPCH.
Texas Medical Board Is Investigating
The El Paso Politics has been provided a copy of a letter dated on May 7, 2020 from the Texas Medical Board addressed to David Saucedo, the father of the little girl that died at EPCH.
According to the letter, the Texas Medical Board, is investigating Canales “to determine whether a violation of the Medical Practice Act has occurred.”
Saucedo Lawyer Sued
Also, the El Paso Politics has learned that Roberto Canales filed a lawsuit and an application asking for an injunction against Anthony Buzbee and the Buzbee Law Firm on February 25, 2020. Buzbee represents the Saucedos in their lawsuit.
According to the Canales lawsuit, “from Thursday, February 11, 2020, until February 14, 2020, the Buzbee Law Firm” published an advertisement in the El Paso Times asking for parents of Roberto Canales’ medical practice who have a child who was “injured or died while receiving treatment from Dr. Roberto Canales” to contact the law firm.
The Canales lawsuit also states that “from Friday, February 14, 2020, and continuing until Wednesday, February 19, 2020, the Buzbee Law Firm” also ran a similar advertisement in El Diario.
The Canales lawsuit also alleges that the Buzbee Law Firm also posted a Facebook advertisement on February 20, 2020.
According to the Canales lawsuit, the Buzbee advertisements “are defamatory, false,” and “misleading”.
Roberto Canales, in addition to seeking damages, is also requested an injunction prohibiting Buzbee from publishing further advertisements.
The Canales lawsuit is currently under appeal at the Court of Appeals, according to online court records.
News Media Coverage
Except for the coverage by the El Paso Politics, El Diario and the El Paso Inc., the local news media has mostly ignored the lawsuit. KVIA News ran a small, unsigned blurb online on August 25, 2020. KVIA included the lawsuit documents in their online blurb.
In a Facebook Messenger exchange with an El Paso Times reporter on August 25, 2020, the Times reporter stated that the El Paso Times “courts reporter was covering that… then suddenly was out for surgery.” The reporter adds, “I promise it’s not a conspiracy” for not covering the lawsuit. The reporter added that “fewer than a dozen reporters” have to cover “2 million since we cover Juarez too.”
As of this morning, the El Paso Times has not covered the lawsuit against the El Paso Children’s Hospital and Roberto Canales.