Settlement proposed in Las Vegas eye doctor’s cocaine case

Friday, June 2, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

CARSON CITY - A proposed settlement has been reached in a prolonged disciplinary case between the state Board of Medical Examiners and a prominent Las Vegas eye doctor arrested in 2003 on a cocaine possession charge.

A disciplinary committee of the medical examiners board has recommended that Dr. Kurt Buzard, owner of the Buzard Eye Institute, be publicly reprimanded. The full board will decide whether to accept the agreement when it meets June 9-10 in Reno.

Donald Baepler, a member of the board's disciplinary committee, said Buzard's attorney has agreed to the disciplinary action.

"This has been a very difficult case," Baepler said, noting that it had nothing to do with the practice of medicine.

"This happened outside his practice, and there was no patient," he said.

The complaint against the ophthalmologist accused him of bringing disrepute to the profession.

Buzard did not return calls seeking comment.

Buzard, who has performed hundreds of laser eye surgeries in Las Vegas, is one of two ophthalmologists in Nevada cited for superior care by Health Grades, an organization that rates physicians.

In August 2003, when police stopped Buzard's Mercedes convertible for a traffic violation in Las Vegas, officers discovered 2.6 grams of cocaine hidden in a candy tin in the car. According to police, Buzard was wearing only underwear, a sheet and a dog collar, and was clearly intoxicated.

Buzard initially was charged with two felony counts, but later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of drug possession and was fined $500.

To avoid having his medical license suspended, Buzard entered a drug diversion program tailored for physicians with addiction problems. Last September, however, he sued the organization, Nevada Health Professional Assistance Foundation, saying it had damaged his reputation by insisting on labeling him a drug addict . His civil suit also said Buzard did not know about or own the small amount of cocaine found in the car.

That was not the first time that Buzard was caught with illegal drugs. Prior to coming to Nevada and being licensed to practice eye care in September 1986, he had been arrested for cocaine possession in Colorado in December 1985. After undergoing drug therapy and performing community service, the charge was dismissed.