BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A former St. Albans surgeon involved in a long-running dispute with Northwestern Medical Center is suing the hospital and six other defendants for $40 million.
The action comes three years after former orthopedic surgeon Raymond A. Long resigned from the hospital following allegations by him that someone had intentionally contaminated surgical fluids he was to use with potentially deadly bacteria.
Attorney General William Sorrell said his office conducted a criminal investigation at the time and found no evidence to support Long’s allegation.
Long maintains that the hospital sought to destroy his career after he reported the alleged contamination to state authorities and tried to get officials at the hospital to deal with other problems there.
Court papers filed by lawyers for the hospital say Long resigned as the hospital was about to start an internal probe of concerns that had been raised about the quality of care he was delivering and about his behavior toward patients and employees.
Long, now of Plattsburgh, N.Y., no longer holds a Vermont medical license.
He has been sued four times for malpractice in Vermont. One case was settled last year and three are pending.
The hospital has denied any wrongdoing in matters involving Long. “This is a long-standing dispute and we contest all of the plaintiff’s claims, which are baseless,” Philip Zane, a lawyer for Quorum Health Services, a Texas firm that helps manage the St. Albans hospital, said in his statement. “The defendants expect to prevail.”
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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
AP-ES-05-20-07 1513EDT
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