Plane Crash Takes Life Of Dr. John Serocki , Workers’ Compensation Orthopedic Surgeon
By Jorge Alexandria - February 27, 2018
Aviation is the branch of engineering that is least forgiving of mistakes. Freeman Dyson
Esteemed workers’ compensation orthopedic physician, Dr. John Serocki, 61, died early Wednesday morning, February 21, 2018, after his single-engine plane, a Cirrus SR22T, crashed in Kearny Mesa, California about half a mile from Montgomery Field Airport. Dr. Serocki was in route to his office in Yuma, Arizona.
His website shows his offices are located in Yuma and San Diego. The doctor was affiliated with Yuma Regional Medical Center. Dr. Bharat Magu, chief medical officer at the Yuma Medical Center, said in a statement, “Today we have lost an exceptional physician, colleague, and friend; a man who dedicated his life and career to caring for patients. Dr. Serocki was an outstanding physician who genuinely cared for people. His compassion and kind nature will be deeply missed.”
John Serocki also practiced medicine and was an orthopedic surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and at Otay Lakes Surgery Center in Chula Vista, California. He often treated injured workers at U.S. Health Works Medical Group.
According to Dr. Serocki’s brother, Robert, he began his education in mechanical engineering, however after earning his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he realized he did not want to be an engineer. Hence, he went on to earn a medical degree from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago in 1985, later becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
He had practiced for 25 years. “He was passionate about being a doctor,” Robert Serocki said. “It was something he felt he needed to do.” It took him to Kathmandu, Nepal, where he worked with underprivileged children; and to Croatia where he was a volunteer orthopedic surgeon and clinical instructor for an international relief agency.
Dr. Serocki was also a member of Doctors Without Borders. He traveled to Haiti after a devastating earthquake rocked the island in 2010. He volunteered frequently at an area animal hospital. Robert said John loved to stay active and when he wasn’t doing medicine, he ran half-marathons, marathons, and climbed mountains all over the world, including the Matterhorn.
He loved to surf. Although he was always modest about his many accomplishments, he always reminded his younger brother of the pulp fiction character Doc Savage—a genius, jack-of-all-trades physician. “He was concerned about being the best possible human being he could be,” Robert said.
The crash site of Dr. Serocki’s plane was west of Interstate 15 and east of state route 163. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) indicated three witnesses reported the plane was travelling from the west to the east shortly before impact and it was not getting enough lift. A witness told the SDFD the plane was flying just above the tree-tops but was not climbing. He said, “It wasn’t continuing to rise. It rolled a couple of times and then nose dove into the site.”
Dr. Serocki's single engine small plane crashed into a vacant lot on Wednesday morning, February 21st 2018, in the Kearney Mesa area of San Diego.
Some speculate Dr. Serocki maneuvered as much as he could onto a vacant lot in order to avoid casualties on the ground. He landed between two trees. The plane was largely intact with a crushed nose, although its wings broke off upon impact.
The FAA’s investigation into the crash, and what could have caused it, is ongoing.
Dr. Serocki’s loss is a huge loss for the workers’ compensation community and especially to the injured workers he served. He was a nice man who always made time to take my phone calls in between appointments.
Jorge Alexandria has more than 20 years of experience in claims handling, supervision, and risk management. He was born in Mexico City and currently lives in Corona, California, with his wife, kids, and dog.
He studied as an undergraduate at Cal State L.A. and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Cal Poly Pomona.
He can be reached at riskletter@mail.com
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