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08/18/2008
Atchison Hospital's Victory in U.S. Court of Appeals Petitioned to Supreme Court
After the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had affirmed in May a lower court's summary judgment that held in favor of defendants Atchison Hospital and three individual physicians, Dr. Pitt Vesom has filed a petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. Members Andy Ramirez (Healthcare - Overland Park) and Mark Ferguson (Labor & Employment - Overland Park) led the Lathrop & Gage legal team in this lawsuit, Vesom v. Atchison Hospital.
If granted, the High Court would hear Dr. Vesom's case for oral argument during the next term. Dr. Vesom, was a physician who had lost his privileges at the hospital in 2004, and then sued the institution along with three members of its medical executive committee for not renewing his medical staff privileges. The plaintiff had asked for over $18 million and unsuccessfully alleged racial discrimination, and that the defendants' actions led to him losing business and damaged his professional reputation.
"This is yet another attempt by Dr. Vesom to subvert the hospital's authority," said Mr. Ramirez, who regularly consults healthcare clients on the full range of medical staff and corporate compliance issues. "We are confident that the Supreme Court will view this exactly as three Justices of the Tenth Circuit and a United States District Judge saw it, which is that the hospital did all that it needed to do in order to continue to serve its patients with the best possible healthcare and manage its own organization."
The Lathrop & Gage legal team successfully argued during earlier stages of this litigation that the opposing argument failed to present any facts that supported Dr. Vesom's claims that he was discriminated against. Atchison Hospital also was able to evince that other charges of antitrust violations under section 1 of the Sherman Act, and claims alleging retaliation from the doctor, held no merit. According to the court's opinion, the plaintiff's evidence was exposed as "sham," and the hospital had been "sandbagged" by the plaintiff. To read the appellate court's opinion in full, click here.
About Lathrop & Gage:
A leading Midwest full-service law firm, Lathrop & Gage L.C. has approximately 300 attorneys in 10 offices nationwide – from Denver, Colo. to New York, New York. In 2007, Chambers USA ranked Lathrop & Gage’s corporate, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, real estate and labor and employment teams among the best in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com or www.beentherewonthat.com.
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