Noted spine surgeon and frequent expert trial witness James Chappuis launched his own litigation last week, accusing a fellow doctor of performing unnecessary surgeries that left a patient quadriplegic and trying to blame Chappuis, who treated her first, to ”cover his tracks.”

The lawsuit, filed July 29 in Fulton County Superior Court, also accuses Emory Healthcare of trying to smear Chappuis, the founder and chairman of Orthopedic & Spine Surgery of Atlanta, which operates four surgical centers, “out of its zeal to quash competition.”