A doctor involved in the 2005 death of an N.C. State student has received a formal reprimand from the North Carolina Medical Board.

The medical board concluded that Dr. Samuel Wurster did not do enough to prevent the death of Sheri Berg, a former student who died in 2005 while the Premier Body Laser and Skin Clinic treated her, according to Wurster’s consent order.

Wurster agreed to let the state medical board reprimand him Aug. 15 after the board cited for unprofessional conduct while medical director of the clinic, according to Dena Konkel, assistant director of public affairs at the NC Medical Board.

Berg, who was 22 at the time of her death, received LaserGel, a prescription-strength anesthetic gel, from the clinic to be applied before she received a laser hair removal procedure.

She applied LaserGel to her legs and traveled to Wurster’s office for the laser hair procedure. On her way to his office, she went into seizures induced by the lidocaine in the LaserGel. Berg died nine days later.

According to the consent documents, Wurster arranged to have LaserGel delivered to the clinic from Triangle Pharmacy. The clinic then sold and distributed LaserGel to patients without written prescriptions.

“LaserGel, a prescription medication, was sold or otherwise provided to patients of Premier Clinics without the benefit of a physician making an informed medical judgment as to the need and appropriateness of the patient using LaserGel,” the consent documents stated.

The medical board said no physician performed a history or medical evaluation on any patient who received LaserGel.

The consent agreement concluded that due to unprofessional conduct as medical director, Wurster cannot supervise laser hair procedures in North Carolina or any other state. It also stated Wurster agreed not to renew his NC medical license.

According to his licensee information available on the medical board’s Web site, Wurster is a licensed physician in Tennessee, Michigan and Illinois. He now practices in Chicago.

Konkel said any other state in which he is a licensee will be notified of the board’s decision.

“It’s up to them as to how they handle the situation from there,” Konkel said. “We let them know that an action was taken against a doctor in our state.”

She said when the NC Medical Board receives word of a similar decision from another state, it often decides to mirror that state’s action.

“I’m not sure what Illinois will do at this point, but it’s not unusual for a state to mirror the action taken against the licensee in another state,” Konkel said.

According to the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation’s Web site, Wurster has had an active license in Chicago since Feb. 16, 2006. It also stated no disciplinary actions have been taken against him.

Phone messages left for the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation and for Wurster were not returned.