DUIs were a clue to plastic surgeon Jan Adams taking chances, and Kanye West’s mother dies.
DUIs as a clue to danger lurking elsewhere: celebrity plastic surgeon Jan Adams
Something I’ve said before bears repeating: I have long bemoaned the fact that the press discloses the drinking and using foibles of celebrities and sports figures while generally failing to report any evidence of use in law enforcers, politicians, CEOs, attorneys and doctors. In my files of likely and confirmed alcoholics, for every celebrity suspected strictly on behavioral clues, four or five are confirmed addicts; out of every four or five law enforcers suspected, there is only one in whom I can prove alcoholism. Yet, the behaviors are similar in all those under suspicion, celebrities and non-celebrities alike. Therefore, hidden alcoholism is likely epidemic in the non-celebrities who qualify for these pages, who are usually relegated to the “Under Watch” section only because we lack confirmation of addictive use of alcohol or other drugs. Illinois state police sergeant Drew Peterson and Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, discussed in the “Under Watch” section of this issue, are cases in point. However, every once in a while, alcohol or other-drug addiction is obvious in the public record among non-celebrity non-law enforcers, because they don’t have as many friends in high places willing to cover it up. It helps, however, if they have celebrity status, even if we ordinarily wouldn’t think of them as such.
Plastic surgeon Jan Adams, 53, manifested long-standing alcoholism in several public incidents before performing surgery on rapper Kanye West’s mother Donda West, who died shortly after the procedure at age 58. He allegedly lost control of his vehicle and struck a parked car in September 2002. While he wasn’t tested, subsequent events, including a plea of no contest to a charge of DUI in January 2003, suggests he was likely under the influence. Three years later Adams was found guilty of driving with a BAL over .08 per cent, for which he was sentenced to 96 hours in jail and given five years probation. Two arrests for DUI or its equivalent are an indication of alcoholism with almost no false readings, especially in someone long past his fraternity years.
In addition, unconfirmed private reports also indicate alcoholism. Ex-girlfriend Deborah Pratt, in papers seeking a restraining order filed in L.A. Superior Court, stated that alcohol brings out Adams’ “Jekyll and Hyde personality” and that the defendant “has an unfortunate drinking problem.” She also alleged he had been abusive when intoxicated in the presence of her children. Such behaviors simply do not occur in the absence of alcoholism and the “Jekyll and Hyde” description increases the confidence level of a correct diagnosis to nearly 100%.
But why should we care? For one thing, half of all road carnage is committed by the 10% of the population consisting of addicts. This 10% is probably driving while under the influence on average roughly 20% of the time. From this we can conclude that (20% of 10% =) 2% of road miles are driven by alcoholics while under the influence, which are responsible for half of all road fatalities. In the absence of road hazards such as inclement weather, DUIs might be responsible for 80% of highway deaths.
I use this estimate, along with other evidence, to make the case in Drunks, Drugs & Debits that 80% of society’s ills, woes and dysfunctions can be attributed to alcohol and other-drug addiction. In one study 70% of snowmobile accidents were caused by operators under the influence; another one shows that 90% of household fires can be traced to errors in judgment or malicious intent by alcoholics. An estimate that alcoholism might be responsible for 80% of fatal and not-quite-fatal errors made by doctors and surgeons is consistent with the evidence.
Many alcoholics are highly functional and competent through much of their drinking careers. There is no proof that Dr. Adams, who was a celebrity plastic surgeon with his own show on Discovery Health and a number of guest expert interviews to his credit on “Oprah,” “The Other Half,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “Extra,” is responsible for the death of Donda West. However, another surgeon, Dr. Andre Aboolian, reportedly told Ms. West he needed medical clearance for a pre-existing condition that could cause a heart attack during surgery before he would operate. It doesn’t appear that she obtained such clearance. The difference is that a sober doctor would have been less likely to perform the procedure than a practicing alcoholic. The non-alcoholic is far less likely to take unnecessary risks. Even the Medical Board of California seems to acknowledge there is a difference between doctors with and without DUIs, since as a result of the public incidents–oh, and perhaps several settled lawsuits over alleged malpractice–it is considering revoking or suspending his license to practice.
Alcoholics experience a sense they can do no wrong. This feeling tends to permeate their thinking and actions, which translate to unnecessarily risky behaviors. Quite simply, they are in the aggregate far bigger risk-takers than non-addicts. While this can work to their and, perversely, even society’s benefit, sometimes the risks don’t pan out. This may have been one of those cases.