A Hamilton County (Ind.) jury awarded a Carmel physician $2.05 million after determining that Indianapolis-based Ascension St. Vincent Medical Group had improperly fired him, Indianapolis Business Journal reported Oct. 7.
Timothy Story, MD, had claimed that Ascension fired him in 2020 after learning about an alleged federal investigation into his prescribing practices. Ascension claimed in their termination notice that Dr. Story failed to notify it of the investigation, which breached his employment agreement.
Dr. Story counterclaimed that he, to the best of his knowledge, was not the target or subject of a federal investigation and had only responded to a federal subpoena requesting five patient records. He also claims that Ascension "disrupted and interfered" with his relationship with patients at FirstLine PHC, a concierge medical practice where Ascension employees were permitted to work. Dr. Story had practiced at FirstLine for over a decade with Ascension's knowledge and consent, according to the report.
Ascension allegedly canceled his professional liability insurance on Aug. 28, 2020, a day after firing him, rendering him unable to practice medicine until he acquired a new plan. His partner, Kevin McCallum, MD, also told Dr. Story that Ascension would not provide malpractice insurance to him for covering Dr. Story's patients, resulting in Dr. McCallum being unable to provide call coverage for Dr. Story.
"While we are disappointed with the outcome, we respect the judicial process and are carefully reviewing the court’s findings," said an Ascension spokesperson in a statement shared with Becker's. "Our primary focus continues to be the health and well-being of the communities we serve. We remain committed to operating with integrity and accountability, as we deliver compassionate, high-quality care to our patients."