Douglas County Grand Jury Indicts Anesthesiologist in Lone Tree Cataract Surgery Death

At InSight Surgery Center in Lone Tree, witnesses told a Douglas County grand jury, the monitoring alarms went silent during a routine cataract procedure while the anesthesiologist tracked music bingo scores on a whiteboard. That patient, 56-year-old Bart Writer, never left the operating room conscious. He was pronounced dead later that day at HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge.

A Douglas County grand jury indicted Dr. Michael J. Urban, 68, on felony counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for his role in Writer's death on Feb. 3, 2023. A warrant for Urban's arrest was issued alongside the indictment. He was released from jail on $20,000 bail and is scheduled to appear for arraignment on May 11.

Witnesses described to the grand jury what they characterized as a series of abnormal decisions Urban made before and during the brief procedure. Machines monitoring Writer's blood oxygen, blood pressure, and heart rate produced no audible alarms, witnesses said, because Urban was known to silence monitoring equipment during surgeries, a practice one unconnected doctor told the grand jury amounted to "malpractice to the nth degree."

While Writer lay sedated on the table, Urban and the operating surgeon played music bingo, a game that involved streaming music from Urban's phone through a wireless speaker while Urban tracked scores on a whiteboard, according to the indictment. Writer's family believes the distraction caused the team to miss critical signs of severe medical distress. When the surgeon finished and lifted the surgical draping, Writer's skin was blue from lack of oxygen. Nurses checked his pulse and found none; Urban insisted he had one.

According to witness testimony presented to the grand jury, Urban told the nursing staff not to start chest compressions and not to call 911. The nurses did both against his instructions. Urban also allegedly told the surgeon he could complete the cataract procedure before addressing the emergency. In a meeting at the surgical center afterward, Urban told colleagues that "the patient must have held his breath."

Writer was transported by ambulance to HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, where he was pronounced dead. The Douglas County Coroner's Office determined he died from a lack of oxygen to his brain after his heart stopped during the surgery. He had undergone cataract surgery the previous year without complications.

The criminal case grew out of a civil lawsuit the Writer family filed against surgeon Dr. Carl Starck Johnson and other defendants; the grand jury reviewed depositions and records tied to that lawsuit. Lone Tree Police Department bodycam footage captured during resuscitation efforts was also referenced in court documents. The Colorado Medical Board, more than a year after Writer's death, issued a non-disciplinary Interim Cessation of Practice agreement in March 2025.

Following the 2023 death, Urban moved to Oregon and continued practicing medicine for several months before retiring. His Colorado attorney, Carmen Decker of Hershey Decker PLLC in Lone Tree, said Urban was "very well-respected in his field and has been a member of many hospital committees and has been the medical director for multiple surgery centers" and that his move to Oregon was to be near family. A spokesperson for the Douglas County District Attorney's Office confirmed Urban reportedly planned to turn himself in; otherwise he would be extradited from Oregon.

Writer's wife said Urban had not faced "any real consequence," and wrote: "Three years have passed with no meaningful action from either state's medical board. That is shameful."

If convicted on the manslaughter charge, Urban faces between two and six years in prison and fines up to $500,000. A conviction on criminally negligent homicide carries between one and three years and fines up to $100,000.