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The U. S. District Court in Indianapolis dismissed a lawsuit against Indiana University Health after the health network terminated a doctor’s medical privileges at the IU Health Bloomington Hospital.
The lawsuit was dismissed after the two parties reached a settlement Oct. 2, ending the litigation.
The original complaint, filed by independent vascular surgeon Ricardo Vasquez in June 2021, stated that IU Health purposefully intended to eliminate him as a competitor in the vascular surgery field, denying him referrals, breaching hospital bylaws, and making defamatory statements against him.
The accusation stems from an investigation into Vasquez by the Bloomington hospital’s medical staff, the result of which ended in Vasquez’s medical privileges being terminated. An independent review panel and the hospital’s board of directors upheld the termination.
The Indiana Southern District court affirmed that Vasquez’s claims against the hospital did not constitute a legitimate antitrust case, stating his allegations of breach of contract and defamation were also without merit.
The court said Vasquez was dissatisfied with competing against the health network.
As part of its settlement, Vasquez paid IU Health $176,030.10. IU Health, however, will not pay anything to Vasquez.
In a press release from IU Health, Vasquez admitted to his past behavior at the hospital saying, “I acknowledge that over the years I was occasionally irritable or intemperate with some of IU Health’s nurses and IT technicians. I also understand that some of these nurses reported that I had been overly abrupt in my interactions with patients. I regret my role in these incidents.”
“The successful resolution of this lawsuit provides long and well-deserved vindication of IU Health Bloomington Hospital’s medical staff and their commitment to the best professional and medical standards,” said Erin Lewis, executive vice president, chief administration officer and general counsel for IU Health in a news release. “We trust IU Health medical staff to adhere to those standards and, when necessary, to enforce them appropriately to ensure a professional workplace and the delivery of the best possible care to our patients.”
The case is Vasquez v. Indiana University Health, Inc. et al, 1:21-cv-01693-JRS-MG.
An attorney for Vasquez did not immediately respond to the Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
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