Physician left to pay hospital’s $313K legal tab after lawsuit over peer review process fizzles

A doctor who signed a conditional reinstatement agreement before voluntarily ending his relationship with a hospital has lost his lawsuit against his former hospital employer.

Sunil Sujan, MD, is now facing a $313,830 legal bill after California's Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed a summary judgment against him after he sued Corona Regional Medical Center and three of his colleagues, alleging they were working in cahoots to destroy his reputation.

In covering the story, HRD Magazine said that Sujan, whom they opted not to name, worked at the facility from 2010 to 2016. He alleged in his complaint that the defendants filled dozens of fraudulent incident reports, claiming among other things that he was not responsive to calls while on the job.

Sujan maintained that "virtually all” of the complaints made by colleagues at Corona Regional Medical Center were fabricated.

The issue in focus in the court was a conditional reinstatement Sujan signed, after he was facing a potential suspension following the death of a patient in 2016. In part, the doctor agreed to additional oversight and training. He subsequently did not use the available peer-review appeals process.

He left his position a short time later, suing for defamation and associated damages of the alleged conspiracy against him, which he said did not include a thorough investigation into why the patient, who had heart failure, ultimately died.

Sujan alleged the experience caused him to lose between $500,000 and $600,000 in annual income.

In its defense, Corona Regional Medical said the doctor failed to remedy the situation privately though internal processes it had in place, which could have negated any financial losses that Sujan incurred.

Ultimately, a court agreed with the hospital. Under California law, when a plaintiff fails to exhaust internal remedies for dispute resolution, they can be liable for the defense’s legal costs—as is the case here.

The appellate court’s full decision is available by clicking here.

The court did not determine that Sujan had engaged in wrongdoing as a physician. The ruling centered on his failure to exhaust the hospital’s peer-review process before bringing his claims.

For more on this story, read HRD Magazine’s coverage at the link below.