A September 24, 2026 jury trial is scheduled in Jasper County Circuit Court for a malpractice lawsuit filed in 2024 by an Arkansas truck driver who claims Dr. David Hargroder botched a gastric bypass surgery and falsely claimed he was board certified.
In the petition, Randy M. Manning, 51, Little Rock, Arkansas, claims Hargroder's surgery caused him to lose his health and business. His wife, Theressa J. Manning, 55, claims lack of consortium with her husband.
Also listed as defendants are MGB Surgery, Carthage; Mercy Clinic Joplin, and three John Does.
The details are spelled out in the petition:
Randy M. Manning is a truck driver who used to own a trucking business named Randy M. Manning LLC that operated several trucks, including but not limited to 13 dump trucks, four semi-trucks and three plow trucks.
Manning lost his health, his entire business, and many of his personal items as a result of his inability to work, which was proximately caused by Defendants’ acts and omissions complained of herein.
Manning struggled with a weight problem for many years of his life. After numerous attempts of dieting and/or exercise failed, Plaintiffs began investigating gastric bypass surgery as a possible solution to Randy M. Manning’s weight problem and related health problems.
In late 2017 or early 2018, Theressa J. Manning reached out to the Valley Health Metabolic and Bariatric Program in Winchester, VA to find out if her husband was a candidate for gastric bypass surgery.
Mrs. Manning was told by a representative of the Valley Health Metabolic and Bariatric Program that Manning was not a candidate for surgery because patients must weight under 400 pounds at the time of gastric bypass surgery. At the time, Randy M. Manning weighed in excess of 400 pounds.
In the summer of 2018, while attending a semi-truck show, Plaintiffs learned about Dr. Hargroder and how he performed surgery on some fellow truck drivers.
In an effort to maximize profits, Dr. Hargroder markets to and targets truck drivers as potential patients, including but not limited to setting up booths and displays at truck shows. Theressa J. Manning called Dr. Hargroder’s office, and Plaintiffs were provided some information about Dr. Hargroder and the procedure he performs, the mini-gastric bypass (sometimes referred to herein as “MGB”).
Dr. Hargroder did not have a 400-pound weight limit in performing the MGB In an effort to attract patients and maximize profits, Dr. Hargroder represented to the public and Plaintiffs that he is “America’s Weight Loss Doctor.”
Dr. Hargroder also represented to the public in general, Plaintiffs, and their primary care physician, Dr. Tracy Johnston, that he was “Board Certified and Specializing in General & Bariatric Surgery.”
Dr. Hargroder’s representation that he was board certified was false. Dr. Hargroder knew his representation that he was board certified was false at the time it was made. Dr. Hargroder intended to induce Plaintiffs to consent to the MGB procedure in misrepresenting that he was board certified. Dr. Hargroder knew his misrepresentation of board certification is a material fact the public relies upon in determining whether to consent to surgery, including Plaintiffs.
Upon information and belief, MGB– Surgery and Mercy Clinic knew or should have known Dr. Hargroder failed to inform Plaintiffs that he was not board certified. Upon information and belief, MGB– Surgery and Mercy Clinic failed to take any action to correct Dr. Hargroder’s misrepresentation because it was in their financial interest to conceal this information.
Plaintiffs and Dr. Johnston relied upon Dr. Hargroder’s misrepresentation in Exhibit B that he was board certified in consenting to the MGB procedure. Plaintiffs and Dr. Johnston would not have consented to Dr. Hargroder performing the MGB procedure had they known he was not board certified as represented in Exhibit B. Plaintiffs and Dr. Johnston were unaware that Dr. Hargroder was not board certified until they were informed of this information after the MGB procedure. Plaintiffs would not have consented to the MGB procedure by Dr. Hargroder or signed any consent form if Dr. Johnston refused to consent to the MGB procedure.
After contacting Dr. Hargroder’s office, over the course of the next several weeks, Plaintiffs went through the pre-operative procedures required by Defendants. Randy M. Manning’s MGB procedure was scheduled for December 27, 2018.
The MGB procedure was scheduled without Plaintiffs having ever seen Dr. Hargroder or any other health care provider associated with Defendants. Before the MGB procedure, Plaintiffs met with Dr. Hargroder to discuss the upcoming surgery. Dr. Hargroder informed Plaintiffs the MGB procedure would last 35 to 40 minutes.
According to the medical records, Dr. Hargroder documented Randy M. Manning’s “predicted weight” as 240 pounds based on a loss of 70 percent of excess weight following the MGB procedure.
On December 27, 2018, Dr. Hargroder performed the MGB procedure on Randy M. Manning and upon information and belief approximately four other patients at Mercy Hospital Carthage. Randy M. Manning’s preoperative weight was 441 pounds.
The MGB procedure lasted close to two hours. After the surgery, Dr. Hargroder informed Theressa J. Manning that the surgery lasted longer than he anticipated because he had a difficult time seeing inside Randy M. Manning’s body during surgery.
Dr. Hargroder told Theressa J. Manning that he had never seen belly fat as dense as Randy M. Manning’s fat, and that it was like cutting into “pig fat.”
On December 29, 2018, Randy M. Manning had an abdominal x-ray with contrast at Mercy Hospital Carthage following severe nausea, vomiting and tachycardia. Dr. Hargroder, a radiology technician, and Theressa J. Manning saw a leak on the x-ray monitor.
The radiology report documented findings consistent with an anastomotic leak. Dr. Hargroder made arrangements to transfer Randy M. Manning to Mercy Hospital Joplin for emergency surgery to repair the leak.
Randy M. Manning was taken to the operating suite and underwent diagnostic laparoscopy. The operative report specifically describes no evidence for leak, but Dr. Hargroder indicated in the operative report that he “over sewed” the anastomosis and stomach staple line, and a drain was placed.
Manning aspirated prior to surgery and remained on a ventilator until the following day, December 30, 2018. Randy M. Manning was discharged from Mercy Hospital Joplin on January 4, 2019 to a local hotel.
On January 7, 2019, Randy M. Manning was readmitted to Mercy Hospital Joplin with abdominal pain and dry heaving. His white blood cell count was 30. Manning developed bilious drainage and evidence of gastric obstruction on imaging studies.
On January 8, 2019, Randy M. Manning was taken back to the operating suite by Dr. Hargroder for diagnostic laparoscopic exam. A perforation of the afferent limb of the small bowel at the Billroth II anastomosis was encountered and repaired, and two drains were placed over the repair. A percutaneous drainage catheter was placed within the excluded stomach to attempt to relieve distention.
Manning’s postoperative course was rocky, with peritonitis, sepsis, acute renal failure, prolonged hospitalization and enterocutaneous fistula. Randy M. Manning was ultimately discharged from Mercy Joplin on February 8, 2019 to a local hotel with IV antibiotics. Postoperative images demonstrated persistent distention of the distal stomach.
On February 19, 2019, Randy M. Manning was readmitted to Mercy Hospital Carthage for labs and an x-ray. The x-ray showed distention of Randy M. Manning’s excluded stomach with fluid. On February 20, 2019, Randy M. Manning was taken to the operating suite for esophagogastroduodenoscopy, jejunostomy feeding tube revision, and drainage of his stomach.
On February 21, 2019, Manning was discharged from Mercy Hospital Carthage to a local hotel with pain pills and nausea medication. On February 22, 2019, Randy M. Manning was released to return home, which at that time was in Virginia.
Manning continued to have abdominal pain, nausea without vomiting, and dry heaves. Dr. Tracy Johnston made an appointment for Plaintiffs to see Troy Glembot, MD, MBA,CPE, FACS, FASMBS, who is Medical Director of the Valley Health Metabolic and Bariatric Program, on April 5, 2019.
On April 5, 2019, Manning went to the Valley Health Metabolic and Bariatric Program in Winchester, VA to get a second opinion. Troy Glembot, MD, FACS, FASMCS, who is Medical Director of the Valley Health Metabolic and Bariatric Program, documented part of his discussion with Plaintiffs, including: “We had a long discussion about his overall course. Multiple records from his hospitalization were reviewed as were operative notes. We specifically discussed the fact that the mini loop gastric bypass is NOT an endorsed procedure by the ASMBS [American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons], that according to the ABS website (https://www.absurgery.org) his surgeon is NOT board certified by the American Board of Surgery and that the management of his complications has been unique.”
Since that time Randy M. Manning has undergone additional surgical procedures with hospitalizations to correct problems caused by the MGB performed by Dr. Hargroder, including: a) b) c) laparoscopic gastrostomy tube placement and lysis of adhesions; conversion of MGB to Roux-en-Y bypass with partial gastrectomy and upper endoscopy; laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy of atonic, denervated gastric remnant with Roux-en-Y, EGD and lysis of adhesions; and d) exploratory laparotomy and gastrojejunostomy revision with repair of gastric perforation.In the response to the Mannings' petition, Hargroder denied any negligence and denied all other allegations and notes that Manning signed an agreement to take any issues to arbitration and claimed Manning "failed to receive timely medical examinations and treatment."
The Mannings, who are asking for a jury trial, are represented by attorney Thomas G. Buchanon, Little Rock.
The lead attorney for Hargroder will be Brian L. Burge of Sanders, Warren & Russell LLP, Overland, Park, Kansas.
