Struggling GA hospital faces physician suit

Of late, Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital has largely been in the news due to its precarious  financial state. But this week, the hospital is drawing attention for a million-dollar suit filed by a physician who says he was unfairly denied the job he was promised. Dr. William Bithoney says that officials at Grady owe him $612,500 in severance pay, plus damages that could push any settlement above $1 million. It certainly hasn't helped matters that Grady withdrew the offer days before Bithoney was to start work, when he'd already purchased a home in the Atlanta metro.

Bithoney, who resigned his position as physician in chief at New York's St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers to come to Grady, was hired as senior vice president of administration by former Grady CEO Otis Story. However, after Story was terminated, the board decided to cancel Bithoney's offer. Board members are contending that any position worth more than $250,000 should have been approved by the board, a step Story apparently failed to take. Bithoney's position would have paid $490,000 a year, and with benefits and bonuses, it was worth about $800,000.  

To learn more about the dispute:
- read this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article