Greensburg, Pa.-based Excela Health will pay $10 million to settle civil lawsuits from two cardiologists who held staff privileges at Excela's Westmoreland Hospital, according to a Nov. 15 report from Trib Live.
The suits were brought by cardiologists George Bou Samra, MD, and Ehab Morcos, MD, who claim they suffered damages due to statements made by Excela executives.
The statements in question were made in letters and news conferences more than a decade ago and questioned the necessity of coronary artery stent procedures performed by Dr. Morcos and Dr. Samra.
More than 100 patients filed lawsuits against the physicians following a 2011 letter sent by Excela to 192 patients disclosing they may have received unnecessary stents based on a review of Dr. Samra and Dr. Morcos' work.
Excela will pay the full settlement amount on behalf of all defendants in the case, according to the report.
"Nothing in the settlement agreement should be construed as an admission by the parties of any liability to each other," David Strassburger, Excela's attorney, told Trib Live. "It should also be stressed that the vast majority of the monetary component of the settlement is covered by insurance and will have no material effect on Excela."
Dr. Samra and Dr. Morcos filed the suit against Excela in 2011 and have faced 11 years of litigation and multiple appeals. The physicians claim their use of stents was proper and Excela conducted the reviews and made the related announcement "with improper motives related to its business operations."
The physicians claimed "great reputational harm and inability to function in their practices as well as great hardship to their families."