U.S. Anesthesia Partners Holdings and a Texas affiliate have secured a pretrial victory in a discrimination lawsuit brought by terminated employee David Axmann, MD, according to a Jan. 15 report from Bloomberg Law.
Dr. Axmann, an anesthesiologist, became a stockholder of USAPH and employee of Dallas-based USAP-Texas in November 2017 following USAP's acquisition of his previous employer. Dr. Axmann alleges that at the time of the acquisition, “most of the anesthesiologists” were over 50 years of age, according to court reports.
Following the acquisition, Dr. Axmann alleged that USAP began staffing operating rooms with CRNAs who were overseen by anesthesiologists. He contends that these providers are typically younger than board-certified anesthesiologists, and that USAP began to dismiss older workers.
In July 2020, USAP met with Dr. Axmann to discuss allegations of poor performance and misconduct. He would be required to submit to coaching sessions with a physician counselor chosen by USAP as a condition of his continued employment.
Two months later, Dr. Axmann refused to attend the sessions unless the review was conducted by "a mutually agreed-upon, qualified medical professional." He also allegedly informed USAP that he was "being subjected to age-based harassment and other age discrimination."
USAP then decided to terminate Dr. Axmann, who was over the age of 40 at the time.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas determined that, while Dr. Axmann put forward an initial case of age bias, USAP produced a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for his termination when it pointed to numerous complaints against the anesthesiologist and his refusal to participate in coaching.