Here are three updates on physicians' wrongful termination lawsuits in the last month:
1. A jury ruled in favor of Scott Lynch, MD, who alleged he was wrongfully fired from Penn State Athletics. Dr. Lynch was awarded $5.25 million — $5 million in punitive damages and $250,000 in compensatory damages, the report said. The decision came after a seven-day trial. Dr. Lynch, who was director of athletic medicine for State College, Pa.-based Penn State, sued the school and multiple officials in 2019, alleging they interfered with medical decisions and then retaliated against him after reporting them.
2. Lauren Pinter-Brown, MD, a former oncologist at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center was awarded $14 million in a gender discrimination lawsuit verdict. Dr. Pinter-Brown sued the UC Board of Regents in 2016 for alleged discrimination by male colleagues for receiving an average of $200,000 less annually. She alleged she faced gender discrimination, gender harassment and retaliation for complaints of discrimination, among other allegations, from 2006 to 2015 when she left her position.
3. Anesthesiologist Ellis Richard Clark, MD, filed a lawsuit against Optum-affiliated Salem (Ore.) Surgery Center, which operates under the name Northbank Surgical Center, for allegedly firing him in retaliation for complaining about unsafe anesthesia practices. Dr. Clark claims that he was forced out of his position for objecting to situations he believed put patients in danger. He claims he was fired in retaliation after complaining to regulatory boards about a registered nurse who objected to administering a certain type of anesthesia.