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Since at least April 2021, the Montana medical licensing board possessed evidence, including thousands of pages of patient files and medical reviews, indicating that Dr. Thomas C. Weiner, a well-known Helena oncologist, harmed and potentially killed patients, according to ProPublica and Montana Free Press. Despite this, the board renewed his medical license twice during that period.
Dr. Weiner led the cancer center at St. Peter’s Health for 24 years until he was dismissed in 2020 and accused of overprescribing narcotics, administering chemotherapy to patients without cancer, and providing substandard care. Denying these allegations, he became the subject of a ProPublica investigation published in December, revealing a documented trail of patient harm and at least 10 suspicious deaths. Many records used in this story were confirmed by St. Peter’s to have been in the medical board’s possession for nearly four years.
In March 2023 and this month, the Board of Medical Examiners renewed Weiner’s medical license, permitting him to treat patients and prescribe drugs. While state agency lawyers collected records from the hospital under subpoena, including medical reviews critiquing Weiner’s care, the inquiry did not progress beyond staff level, according to a current and a former board member. It remains unclear why Weiner’s case was not escalated to the governor-appointed board members.
Sam Loveridge, spokesperson for the Department of Labor and Industry, under which the board operates, did not respond to emailed questions, including whether the board members reviewed the hospital-provided records.
Kathleen Abke, attorney for St. Peter’s, stated that the hospital initially handed over 160,000 pages of documents related to the care of 64 patients to the licensing board; the state received those records shortly after Weiner’s termination.
As part of the subpoena, St. Peter’s provided medical records of Scot Warwick, diagnosed by Weiner with Stage 4 lung cancer in 2009, although no lung biopsy confirmed the disease. Despite this, Weiner administered chemotherapy and other treatments for over a decade. Following Warwick’s death in 2020, an autopsy, provided to the board, revealed no evidence of cancer. Weiner insisted the patient had terminal cancer, alleging errors by a pathologist and post-mortem medical examiner.
Lisa Warwick, Scot’s widow, sued St. Peter’s for wrongful death, reaching an undisclosed settlement. She learned from ProPublica and Montana Free Press that the state had her husband’s records for years, describing the situation as “appalling.”
Anthony Olson, another patient treated with chemotherapy by Weiner, expressed shock upon learning that Montana regulators had details of his case as early as 2021. Three biopsies confirmed Olson never had cancer, leading to severe health issues from unnecessary treatments. Olson questioned the board’s negligence, while Weiner attributed Olson’s misdiagnosis to other doctors, acknowledging the treatments received were unnecessary.
In Montana, medical licenses are renewed biennially. A few months post-renewal in 2023, the board subpoenaed the hospital for additional records. Abke noted thousands more internal documents were provided to the board, yet no hospital staff were summoned to testify about Weiner’s practices.
St. Peter’s confirmed that the second tranche included Nadine Long’s medical records, a 16-year-old girl who died in 2015 shortly after receiving a substantial sedative dose ordered by Weiner, who denied wrongdoing, claiming he offered comfort for a terminal condition.
The hospital reported Weiner’s removal to the National Practitioner Data Bank and alerted federal authorities to his alleged narcotics practices, citing serious concerns about his conduct.
Dr. James Burkholder, a board member until 2023, reported never encountering Weiner’s case during deliberations, despite serving on the screening subcommittee. Dr. Carley Robertson, another board member, also had no knowledge of Weiner.
The board typically withholds information on complaints lacking substantiation. ProPublica and Montana Free Press confirmed at least one licensing complaint against Weiner, filed in 2021, was dismissed after three years.
Marilyn Ketchum acted on concerns regarding her husband, Shawn Ketchum, who died under Weiner’s care, alleging Weiner altered his code status to DNR/DNI without permission. St. Peter’s internal reviews described this as a serious breach of care and ethics. Ketchum expressed frustration with the board’s lack of action after nearly two years of following up on her complaint, which was dismissed in late 2024 without explanation.
Weiner, currently unable to treat patients due to lack of malpractice insurance, is under criminal investigation by the Montana Department of Justice, initiated after the ProPublica article. Although Weiner has not been charged, he and the hospital face lawsuits involving defrauding healthcare programs, with the hospital settling for $10.8 million.
Weiner’s appeal against his dismissal was rejected by the Montana Supreme Court, which found his patient care inadequate. Despite this, many Helena residents continue supporting Weiner, alleging unjust targeting by the hospital. Protests and public displays of support persist, whereas St. Peter’s works towards rebuilding community trust amidst the backlash.
