What do you really know about your doctors? 13 Investigates
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- By the time Rosa Caldera found out what she knows now, she said the damage was already done.
Caldera said she had already trusted Dr. Dare Ajibade to perform liposuction and was left with permanent damage.
"I didn't think that this could happen at all," Caldera said.
Before choosing a doctor, Caldera said she did what any modern consumer would do, including checking Ajibade's website, reading Google reviews and browsing before-and-after photos before deciding on a plastic surgeon.
She felt the clinic and doctor checked out, but after she went under the knife, she said her opinion changed.
Caldera's lawsuit filed in Harris County by Dallas-Fort Worth-based attorney Lennie Bollinger claims a 10-hour procedure left her feeling "as if she may die."
An ambulance rushed her from the Houston clinic straight to the hospital.
She survived but required two follow-up surgeries, including a skin graft to repair a third-degree burn.
"It took me a while to get back to myself. I don't think I'm still myself," Caldera said.
13 Investigates found that two months prior to Caldera's surgery, Gavin Easley found his mother dead on the bathroom floor of a hotel in Virginia three days after her liposuction procedure with Ajibade.
"He then followed up, actually, and called me the next morning to ask, 'Hey, did you find your mom?' And I told him, 'Yeah, she's dead,'" Easley recalled.
Caldera and Easley are now suing Ajibade, who has a practice in Houston and is also now operating in Miami.
In total, 13 Investigates knows of four malpractice lawsuits that have been filed against Ajibade since August 1, 2025. Two of the suits are in Houston, one is in San Antonio and one in Virginia.
"When I heard that someone had died, I was just in shock," Caldera said.
13 Investigates wanted to know how Caldera or patients like her can find out more about the physicians they are trusting with their health.
Robert Painter, who is not representing any patients in their claims against Ajibade, started his career working in hospital administration and now works as a medical malpractice attorney.
He said Texas law protects physicians with an "extreme degree of confidentiality."
"You really hit a brick wall that's encased in steel and cement," Painter said.
Painter said you can get more information about a plumber or an electrician than a physician in the state.
We found it's not that the board doesn't know what's going on with physicians.
In fact, a bill passed in 2023 that enabled the Texas Medical Board to continuously gather information on physicians from a national database rather than only when their license is up for renewal.
The query of information would include details on lawsuits, arrests, quality-of-care concerns, among other things, but patients aren't privy to everything the board knows.
Still, TMB President Sherif Zaafran said the board's mission is to protect patients.
One of the ways he said TMB does that is by investigating complaints that are filed with the agency.
"We have a variety of different ways of disciplining physicians or disciplining folks who are practicing medicine inappropriately," Zaafran said.
The board has the authority to investigate doctors for everything from quality-of-care issues to unprofessional conduct to violations of the law and more.
But while they're being investigated, the patient has no way of knowing.
Pending investigations aren't published anywhere or listed on the doctor's profile on TMB's website.
Complaints are only posted on the TMB's website if they are sustained. 13 Investigates found the investigation process isn't quick.
In fiscal year 2025, data from TMB shows it took an average of 263 days to close a complaint. That trend has remained fairly consistent over the last five years.
13 Investigates asked Zaafran how patients can protect themselves while the TMB conducts its investigations.
"There's due process that works on both sides," he said.
Zaafran said the board now has the ability to issue a temporary suspension, without going through the complaint process, if they believe the physician poses an immediate threat to the public.
13 Investigates told TMB about the four lawsuits filed against Ajibade in the last year and asked if the agency would be using that tool in his case or if they were looking into him.
They told us they can't comment on any pending or potential litigation.
We don't know how many total complaints have been filed against him.
We submitted a public records request to TMB asking for just the number of complaints that have been filed, not the details of the complaints, but fairly immediately we were sent a response saying legally they can't release that information.
But patients of Dr. Ajibade we spoke to said they do not understand why the information is not available.
"You can't even get a legitimate understanding of who it is that you're going to put the responsibility of your life in their hands," Easley said. "Why would that be the case?"
13 Investigates found Ajibade has at least one sustained complaint in Texas.
Ajibade's profile on the TMB website shows he was placed on a remedial plan this past December for a liposuction procedure that "did not conform to the standard of care."
His punishment required him to take continuing education hours and pay a fine.
13 Investigates attempted to ask Ajibade about the procedure that led to the complaint.
We also tried to ask him a whole list of questions related to claims made by other patients in lawsuits and about his practices in general.
He himself did not respond, but we received an unsigned email from his clinic, DVA Plastic Surgery, saying they cannot comment.
As far as the complaint filed with the medical board, the agency's website shows the state provides very few details on what happened to the patient.
The reprimand requiring continuing education was posted after three of the patients who filed lawsuits had procedures with Ajibade.
Painter said any kind of board action listed on a physician's profile catches his eye.
"The Texas Medical Board functions as a toothless tiger," Painter said.
There is no information about pending lawsuits on Ajibade's profile under the "malpractice information" tab of the TMB website.
Under TMB rules, a lawsuit only appears on a doctor's public profile if a case goes to trial, a jury finds them liable and monetary damages are officially awarded.
If a doctor settles a malpractice claim out of court, the lawsuits stay hidden from the public on the TMB website.
"It's mind-blowing to me that this information is not out there for people," Caldera said.
To protect yourself before a procedure, Painter said you have to look for clues between the lines.
He said when he's vetting a doctor, he looks at how long they've been in Texas.
He also looks at the doctor's education and checks to see if the specialty listed on their profile is what they're practicing.
He said being board certified is important, and he checks to see if they have privileges at a major hospital, which means at the least they were vetted by that healthcare system.
When it comes to surgery centers, he said he's leery of them and prefers to have procedures in a hospital, even if it costs more. He said that's because there are more resources at a hospital, just in case additional care is needed.
In an environment where the state shields the data, the burden of finding out about your physician is entirely on the patient.
"It's really scary to me to think that when you think about patient safety, it's left to hope," Painter explained. "You hope that in an environment of privilege and confidentiality that people are doing the right thing."
RELATED: Houston plastic surgeon facing four malpractice suits in one year
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