The family of Bartlett “Bart” Writer, a beloved Colorado father and financial adviser who died during what was supposed to be a routine cataract surgery, has reached a settlement with the doctors accused of failing to monitor his vital signs while allegedly playing “music bingo” in the operating room.
Bart Writer, 56, died on Feb. 3, 2023, after undergoing a standard 10-minute cataract procedure at InSight Surgery Center in Lone Tree, a suburb of Denver.
The surgery was performed by Dr. C. Starck Johnson, a longtime acquaintance of the patient, with an anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Urban, managing anesthesia. The procedure was considered so low-risk that Johnson told Writer’s wife, Chris, she could leave to run errands while it was performed.
“They said I needed to go. I could do an errand or I could do whatever, and they would call me when he was done,” Chris Writer told NBC affiliate KUSA. “We weren’t thinking there was a whole lot of risk.”
But the next call she received wasn’t to pick up her husband. Instead, Dr. Johnson asked her to meet him in the parking lot. When she arrived, she said the surgeon greeted her with an unexpected question: “Do you believe in God?” “And I said, ‘Um, yeah.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And he goes, ‘Would you like to pray with me?’ And I was like, ‘What?’” Chris recalled. That’s when she learned her husband of 23 years was dead.
According to a lawsuit filed by the family and obtained by KUSA, Bart’s vital signs became “abnormal” 11 minutes into the surgery. However, no one in the operating room ensured that the monitors’ audible alarms were turned on before the procedure began. That lapse proved fatal.
During that critical time, the lawsuit claims, both doctors were distracted by a game they routinely played during surgeries — “music bingo.” Urban’s cellphone played songs from the ’70s and ’80s, and the team would match artist names to letters to spell out “BINGO.” The Bee Gees, for example, counted as “B,” while Gladys Knight was “G.” Urban, who was solely responsible for monitoring the patient’s vitals, was also the one keeping score.
“They just didn’t pay attention,” Chris said. “Maybe they do so many of these surgeries that it just becomes so routine. I’m just infuriated.”
Deposition records show that both Johnson and Urban admitted under oath to playing the game during Bart’s surgery.
“We continually listen to the radio and we categorize the songs,” Johnson said. “So as an example, with the 70s group, the Bee Gees were to sing a song, that would be a letter B,” Urban explained.
Meanwhile, Bart, whose upper body was covered during the operation, began turning blue due to lack of oxygen — a clear sign of respiratory failure that went unnoticed until it was too late. He was transferred to Sky Ridge Medical Center, just over a mile away, but could not be revived. An autopsy listed cardiac arrest as the cause of death.
A grieving Chris Writer was initially told her husband’s death was a tragic accident. But weeks later, she received a phone call from a doctor not involved in the surgery.
“He goes, ‘I’m telling you this because I think that’s a major distraction,’” she said. That tip about “music bingo” led her to hire a legal team to investigate.
“We learned from the nurses and from the depositions that it wasn’t unusual for them to turn off the audible alarms,” she added. “And that particular machine allows that to happen.”
Johnson and Urban later pointed fingers at each other. In a statement to KUSA, Johnson’s attorney blamed Urban, saying Johnson “relies on the anesthesiologist to provide the proper dose and type of anesthesia, to properly monitor the patient’s condition, and to communicate all relevant information to the surgeon, including if they have elected, for whatever reason, to silence the audible alarms.”
He added that Johnson, who was looking through a microscope during the entire procedure, had no way of seeing the patient’s color change or monitor readings: “Nothing in Dr. Johnson’s experience would explain, justify, or have predicted Dr. Urban’s decisions on that day.”
Johnson himself told KUSA, “I know that he wasn’t paying attention to the vital signs and doing his job.”
Urban no longer works at InSight Surgery Center and has since moved out of state. Through his attorney, he disputed Johnson’s characterization: “Dr. Urban stands by his care and treatment of Mr. Writer and disagrees with the surgeon’s characterizations of the events of that day, which we understand are in the context of contentious litigation. He is nonetheless very sympathetic towards Ms. Writer and her loss.”
Chris Writer eventually reached a settlement with Johnson for an undisclosed amount.
“My son is without his dad, his best friend. I’m without Bart, my guy. Yeah, it makes me angry. It makes me sad. I’m sad. I’m mad. I’m just disgusted. I’m just infuriated,” she said.
Bart Writer, remembered by loved ones as a devoted husband, father, and friend, was a partner at Madison Financial, LLC, and known for his warm personality, deep friendships, and zest for life. Despite suffering from a rare retinal condition, he embraced every adventure—skiing, hiking, running marathons, and traveling the world. He is survived by his wife, Chris, and their son, Cole.
In his final act of generosity, Bart became an organ donor, saving three lives.
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