A doctor in Colorado has been indicted by a grand jury following allegations that he was more engrossed in a “music bingo” game than attending to a patient who was dying during a cataract surgery.

Anesthesiologist Dr. Michael Urban, aged 68, faces a manslaughter charge linked to the death of 56-year-old Bart Writer, as reported by NBC affiliate KUSA. The tragic event took place on February 3, 2023, at InSight Surgery Center in Lone Tree, near Denver, where Writer had gone for a routine cataract procedure.

The operation was led by Dr. C. Starck Johnson, a long-time acquaintance of the patient, alongside Dr. Urban. The surgery was anticipated to last merely 10 minutes. However, crucial alarms intended to monitor Writer’s vital signs were reportedly silenced, allowing staff to focus on the music coming from Urban’s phone, which was used for the “music bingo” game.

Legal documents, as shared by KUSA, reveal that Bart Writer’s vital signs turned “abnormal” 11 minutes into the surgery. Despite the patient being connected to monitors with alarm systems designed to signal deviations from normal readings, the lawsuit claims that “no one in the operating room ensured that the audible tones, signals, and alarms were turned on and audible prior to the start of the procedure.”

When Bart Writer began experiencing respiratory distress, the lawsuit stated that Johnson and Urban were engaged in a game of “music bingo.” According to KUSA’s reporting on deposition statements made by both doctors, the game was based on a playlist played from Urban’s cellphone, which included songs from the 1970s and 1980s. Bands and musicians were identified by the first letter of their first names — e.g., the Bee Gees were letter “B,” Gladys Knight was letter “G.” And the goal was to be the first to spell “BINGO.”

Urban, who was the only person in the operating room able to see Bart Writer’s vital sign readings, was the one keeping score during that day’s “music bingo” game.

Bart Writer, who was covered during surgery from the head down, had started turning blue from lack of oxygen. By the time he was taken to a hospital nearby, it was too late to save him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital; the cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest.

Chris Writer told KUSA, “They just didn’t pay attention. Maybe they do so many of these surgeries that it just becomes so routine. I’m just infuriated.” After her husband’s death, she had received a tip from an unnamed doctor who was not in the operating room, who said Johnson and Urban were known to play their “music bingo” game during surgical procedures.

The grieving widow hired attorneys to question both doctors, who admitted in recorded depositions — also obtained by KUSA — to playing the game while they operated on Bart Writer

Chris Writer sued Johnson, who seemed to throw his former “music bingo” playmate under the bus. In a statement to KUSA, he blamed Urban — with whom he said he performed 8,000 cataract surgeries — “for decisions that violated proper protocol.”

Johnson’s attorney told KUSA, “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.”

He added, “Nothing in Dr. Johnson’s experience would explain, justify or have predicted Dr. Urban’s decisions on that day.”

Urban responded to the statement through his attorney, who told KUSA that “Dr. Urban stands by his care and treatment of Mr. Writer and disagrees with the surgeon’s characterizations of the events of that day, which we understand are in the context of contentious litigation. He is nonetheless very sympathetic towards Ms. Writer and her loss.”

Urban no longer works at InSight Surgery Center after moving out of state.

KUSA reported that Chris Writer and Johnson settled for an undisclosed amount.