Health Law

?Barking? Radiologist Bites Hospital for $4 Million Dollars.

By Greg Piche'

On March 4, 2008, this blog published a story about St. James Healthcare in Butte, Montana and its having obtained an injunction against a radiologist, Dr. Jesse Cole, enjoining him from allegedly threatening staff and contacting prospective radiologists being recruited to St. James. The article was entitled ?Montana Court Muzzles Barking Radiologist.?  Well, the tide has turned and Dr. Cole has taken a bite out of the hospital and its parent company, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System to the tune of $4 Million dollars.

The defendants hired an investigator to investigate Dr. Cole and other doctors on the medical staff. Dr. Cole had refused to become an exclusive provider of radiology for St. James. The investigator recommended that Dr. Cole?s privileges not be renewed and the hospital issued an initial denial of reappointment.  Dr. Cole obtained an injunction against the hospital prohibiting it from reporting its termination of Dr. Cole?s privileges to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which was affirmed by the Montana Supreme Court.

Dr. Cole also sued for actual and punitive damages based on violation of due process, abuse of process, defamation,Tortious interference, antitrust violations and breach of a contract contained in the hospital bylaws.  The defendants settled for $4 Million Dollars. Dr. Cole is apparently setting up a foundation to funnel some of the money back into the community. Highhanded hospital behavior can come back to bite it.

Full post as published by Healthcare Law Blog on November 20, 2010 (boomark / email).