An insurer on Oct. 26 asked a California federal court to revoke an ASC's professional liability policy after it accused the surgery center and one of its spine surgeons of failing to disclose malpractice lawsuits in its insurance renewal application, according to Law360.
Three details:
1. National Fire & Marine Insurance Co., a Berkshire Hathaway company, alleges that seven lawsuits alleging professional negligence and malpractice were not disclosed in a renewal application from Newbury Park-based California Minimally Invasive Surgical Center.
2. One of the seven lawsuits was brought by a patient who accuses John Chiu, MD, of performing spine surgery on a patient one day before he surrendered his license, according to the report. The surgery, a discectomy, was an "unnecessary and invasive procedure" that resulted in severe injuries and emotional distress, according to the patient, who said he would not have had the procedure done had he known that Dr. Chiu was set to surrender his medical license the next day.
3. The insurer told the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that it would not have entered into an insurance contract with the ASC and surgeon if it had known about the seven malpractice lawsuits.