What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA
I am a physician employed by a company that contracts medical services to hospitals. I am still employed by this company, but the hospital I was working at (full time) stated that I cannot work there as an employee of the contracting company anymore. I can work at the hospital as an independent physician admitting my own patients because I still have full privileges at the hospital, but I cannot continue my hospital-based practice as before, and thus I have lost all my income with the contracting company until this company can find another hospital I where I can work. The decision to limit my practice at this hospital was not made by anyone at the hospital locally, such as the administration of the hospital or a medical executive committee, as is usually the case. Rather, this decision was made in the hospital's parent company / corporate office in another state, and the stated reason was due to financial loss or risk due to occasional delays in my submitting paperwork to the hospital so that they could be reimbursed for patient care immediately by insurance companies, Medicare, etc. The hospital wanted all charts to be completed within 24 hours, where JCAHO standards are within 2 weeks. The hospital's parent corporation is already under scrutiny after being fined millions of dollars by the government for submitting unacceptable claims for reimbursement some years ago. So the corporate office felt that there was a risk they would submit a claim without all the paperwork completed within 24 hours, instead of continuing to request myself or other physicians to complete paperwork. However, there is no specific bylaw or procedure to be followed other than if a physician is delinquent more than 30 days with paperwork on a patient's chart, which I was not- that the physician would have privileges suspended temporarily until this delinquency is corrected or a permanent suspension occurs at the request of the medical staff committee after due process. Usually, if a physician is sanctioned at a hospital, there is a long process of warnings, peer reviews, board meetings, and other methods- which I never experienced. There was no specific warnings, no letters reprimanding me from the hospital or its parent company, nor any meetings which is due process for all physicians on staff, even in cases of malpractice, etc. Instead, they bypassed all the bylaws and procedures that are in place and stated to my contracting company that I can't work in that capacity there anymore effective immediately. Also, in the contract I signed, there was clause for a 120 day notice of termination of employment, but earlier this year there was an attempt to have myself and my colleagues to sign an addendum to the contract that stated that we can be released immediately if the hospital parent company wanted, without following the established due process- which none of us including myself signed- however they still went ahead and did this without my agreement to this and violated the original contract. I am hoping to pursue this as a matter of breech of contract and wrongful termination, or even if the termination was legal, then the method used was illegal, without warning or due process as is usually followed. So do I have a case and if so where can I find an employment lawyer? Thanks?
I am a physician employed by a company that contracts medical services to hospitals. I am still employed by this company, but the hospital I was working at (full time) stated that I cannot work there as an employee of the contracting company anymore. I can work at the hospital as an independent physician admitting my own patients because I still have full privileges at the hospital, but I cannot continue my hospital-based practice as before, and thus I have lost all my income with the contracting company until this company can find another hospital I where I can work. The decision to limit my practice at this hospital was not made by anyone at the hospital locally, such as the administration of the hospital or a medical executive committee, as is usually the case. Rather, this decision was made in the hospital's parent company / corporate office in another state, and the stated reason was due to financial loss or risk due to occasional delays in my submitting paperwork to the hospital so that they could be reimbursed for patient care immediately by insurance companies, Medicare, etc. The hospital wanted all charts to be completed within 24 hours, where JCAHO standards are within 2 weeks. The hospital's parent corporation is already under scrutiny after being fined millions of dollars by the government for submitting unacceptable claims for reimbursement some years ago. So the corporate office felt that there was a risk they would submit a claim without all the paperwork completed within 24 hours, instead of continuing to request myself or other physicians to complete paperwork. However, there is no specific bylaw or procedure to be followed other than if a physician is delinquent more than 30 days with paperwork on a patient's chart, which I was not- that the physician would have privileges suspended temporarily until this delinquency is corrected or a permanent suspension occurs at the request of the medical staff committee after due process. Usually, if a physician is sanctioned at a hospital, there is a long process of warnings, peer reviews, board meetings, and other methods- which I never experienced. There was no specific warnings, no letters reprimanding me from the hospital or its parent company, nor any meetings which is due process for all physicians on staff, even in cases of malpractice, etc. Instead, they bypassed all the bylaws and procedures that are in place and stated to my contracting company that I can't work in that capacity there anymore effective immediately. Also, in the contract I signed, there was clause for a 120 day notice of termination of employment, but earlier this year there was an attempt to have myself and my colleagues to sign an addendum to the contract that stated that we can be released immediately if the hospital parent company wanted, without following the established due process- which none of us including myself signed- however they still went ahead and did this without my agreement to this and violated the original contract. I am hoping to pursue this as a matter of breech of contract and wrongful termination, or even if the termination was legal, then the method used was illegal, without warning or due process as is usually followed. So do I have a case and if so where can I find an employment lawyer? Thanks?