Arthrocare Unit Keeps Troubling Company

When asking the court to subpoena Baker, in fact, Woods laid out plans to seek all correspondence between Arthrocare and DiscoCare about a number of troubling characters.

Jeffrey Kugler, the first person on that list, works as a spine surgeon at bustling Palm Beach Lakes Surgery Center. In a past deposition, Kugler boasted that he wrote Arthrocare's training protocol for plasma disc decompression (PDD) surgeries requiring the company's SpineWands. Based on pending lawsuits, however, Kugler is suspected of grossly overusing those procedures himself.

Kugler's partner, Jonathan Cutler, appears on Woods' lengthy list as well. Cutler, a podiatrist, reportedly founded DiscoCare and has pocketed $25 million for its sale.

Michael Steinger pops up on that list, too. His busy law firm is suspected of referring its clients to Palm Beach Lakes Surgery Center for unnecessary PDD surgeries requiring Arthrocare's devices.

Steinger's office failed to return phone messages seeking input for this story.

Woods also has singled out a convicted felon -- Mark Izydore -- on his list as well. In fact, when pursuing one case involving a questionable PDD surgery, Woods tried to arrange a deposition with Izydore himself.

In early February, before his opponents suddenly dropped their case, Woods hired a process server to subpoena Izydore, who reportedly was an employee at Palm Beach Lakes Surgery Center. But the process server and a private investigator lost track of the elusive Izydore in the end.

"I observed Mr. Izydore's black BMW 7451 departing his residential neighborhood," the private investigator stated in a formal affidavit at the time. "After departing the vicinity of his residence, Mr. Izydore made repetitive U-turns, drove into residential neighborhoods and drove behind a shopping mall for no apparent reason ... His driving was indicative of someone who was attempting to determine if they were being followed."

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