Pediatric intensivist David Lankford, DO, is suing Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network, his former employer, to get out of his noncompete agreement, Indiana Public Media reported July 10.
The lawsuit could be the first test of Indiana's new state law that restricts noncompetes for some physicians.
Dr. Lankford quit his job at Lutheran Hospital in the ICU, where he worked as an employee of Lutheran Medical Group, after the hospital laid off its non-intensive pediatric hospitalists about a year ago and transferred their patients to Dr. Lankford and other intensivists, according to a complaint. He is now suing to get out of a noncompete agreement that prohibits him from working in the Fort Wayne area for what could be years, although the details of his employment agreement are confidential, according to the report.
"The contract is very specific about what his specialty is and what services he is being asked to perform," Dr. Lankford's attorney Kathleen DeLaney said, according to the report. "When the hospital decided to let go of all of the pediatric hospitalists, they asked Dr. Lankford to provide care outside of his subspecialty and outside the scope of his contract."
According to the report, Dr. Lankford was concerned about patient safety with a higher caseload, and Lutheran allegedly refused attempts to address the issue by renegotiating the terms of the contract.
This case hinges on the new state law's avenue that makes a noncompete unenforceable if the physician quits "for cause."
Lutheran allegedly declined to comment for this story, according to Indiana Public Media.