Here are six former staff suing their ASC employer in 2024:
1. Salem, Ore., radiologist David Tarbox, MD, filed a lawsuit against Northwest Permanente, a Kaiser Permanente-affiliated physician group, alleging he faced retaliation after raising allegations against two other physicians. Northwest Permanente, the largest medical group in Oregon and southwest Washington, said that it "strongly disputes" the allegations.
Dr. Tarbox filed his complaint Oct. 20, alleging fraudulent conduct by Joe Shen, MD, and Dorothy Pao, MD, a married couple employed by the practice until November 2022. Dr. Tarbox discovered that Dr. Shen purportedly was reading exams and taking shifts for Dr. Pao, causing fraudulent claims and medical records. When Dr. Tarbox raised concerns, his superiors allegedly responded with retaliation and a cover-up.
2. Two surgeons — Kevin Day, MD, and Richard Havard, MD — filed a whistleblower complaint against Corvallis, Ore.-based Samaritan Health Services. The suit comes almost a year after their termination led to the sudden closure of Samaritan Plastic, Reconstructive & Hand Surgery.
The suit alleges that Samaritan's "top-heavy" and "profit-focused" management resulted in sudden cancellations of entire days of surgery, with little or no notice in some cases, and made it "progressively more difficult to secure the resources [the physicians] required to provide timely, quality care to their patients," according to the suit.
3. Dermatologist Barbara Vail, MD, is suing Doylestown, Pa.-based Dermatology and Mohs Surgery Center and its parent companies, along with two executives, alleging wrongful termination. According to the lawsuit, Dr. Vail sold her practice, Dermatology Specialists of Warrington (Pa.), in March 2021 to Anne Arundel Dermatology Management and continued to work at the practice. Following the acquisition, the suit alleges, AAD began firing or forcing out her staff and "replacing them with inexperienced and poorly trained medical assistants." Dr. Vail then complained to AAD about the lack of experienced staff, and AAD allegedly responded by investigating and eventually firing Dr. Vail
4. Cardiologist Keesag Baron, MD, is suing Springfield, Mo.-based CoxHealth, claiming the system wrongfully reported that he was a threat to the public and terminated his privileges. From 2008 to November 2022, Dr. Baron, who runs Baron Cardiology Group in Springfield, had admitting staff privileges at CoxHealth. CoxHealth and the clinic allegedly pressured Dr. Baron to send his referrals to them. When he refused, they allegedly removed his privileges due to the death of an 88-year-old former patient as a pretense.
5. Optometrist Alana Curatola, OD, filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Sequim, Wash.-based Northwest Eye Surgeons for gender discrimination and workplace retaliation. The lawsuit alleges that her employer fired her the day after returning back to work from parental leave.
6. Urologist Eric Rottenberg, MD, sued his former employer, Scranton-Pa.-based Commonwealth Health Physician Network, for enforcing a noncompete agreement that limited his ability to practice locally. He worked for several local health system hospitals between May and November 2023 through a three-year contract with a clause barring him from working within a 20-mile radius, enforced for the following two years.