Dentist accused of bludgeoning patients

A Georgia oral surgeon accused of bludgeoning patients and defrauding Medicaid has lost his license, according to Fox 5 Atlanta television channel.

Gordon Austin, D.M.D., pleaded guilty in August to charges of billing Medicaid for services he did not perform, in exchange for which prosecutors dropped charged that he struck patients with a blunt metal dental instrument, the TV channel reported.

The Georgia Board of Dentistry revoked his license last week.

Austin could not be reached for comment. Patients who say he beat them are still pursuing lawsuits against the surgeon, according to the report.

In an earlier report, Fox 5 said Dr. Austin's attorney "plans to argue that if the doctor struck anyone, it was done in self defense," and also that "a patient who consents to a medical touching cannot sustain a battery claim."

According to the report, some of Dr. Austin's employees supported eight patients' charges that he battered them.