| NEWARK – The State Board of Medical Examiners today revoked the license of Dr. Richard A. Kaul, adopting a recommendation issued by an Administrative Law Judge in December 2013 that followed a hearing about Kaul’s performance of spinal surgeries without having proper medical training, education or experience.
Kaul, 49, who owns the New Jersey Spine and Rehabilitation Center in Pompton Lakes, had his medical license temporarily suspended by the Board in June 2012 while the State’s allegations against him awaited a hearing in the Office of Administration Law. An Administrative Law Judge in December issued an Initial Decision that found Kaul had “engaged in gross negligence, gross malpractice and gross incompetence” and recommended revocation of Kaul’s license. The Board has the ability to accept the recommendation or revise it.
The Judge, noting that Kaul is a board-certified anesthesiologist, found that Kaul’s “education, training, internships, residencies and fellowships were insufficient to prepare him for surgeries of the spine, whether minimally invasive or open.” (read the OAL’s Initial Decision here.)
“The Board’s action today protects the public from someone who put patients in harm’s way, and quite candidly, had no qualms or remorse about repeatedly doing so,” Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said. “Dr. Kaul’s patients in fact did sustain additional maladies as well as uncorrected medical conditions, as a direct result of Dr. Kaul’s improper procedures.”
Acting Attorney General Hoffman praised Deputy Attorney General Doreen A. Hafner for her work in representing the State before the OAL and Board. The OAL process included 23 days of hearings and testimony from a dozen witnesses for the State, including two expert witnesses.
The Board also ordered Kaul to pay $300,000 in civil penalties and $175,422 in legal and investigative cost reimbursements to the State.
“Dr. Kaul’s demonstrated deviation from standards of care -- the treatments and procedures he performed on his patients – resulted in the revocation of his license. The State proved its allegations and we’re pleased the Board has enacted the Court’s recommendation of license revocation,” said Eric T. Kanefsky, Director of the State Division of Consumer Affairs. “Dr. Kaul’s actions are an affront to doctors who spend years studying and training so they can properly care for their patients.”
The Board of Medical Examiners is within the Division of Consumer Affairs and licenses and regulates physicians in New Jersey.
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