Former cardiologist Mark Midei and his attorneys are asking a judge to allow the defamation lawsuit against Maryland's St. Joseph Medical Center to go to trial, reported The Baltimore Sun. In the suit, Midei seeks $60 million for four counts of defamation.
The suit arose over allegations, beginning in 2009, that the former heart doctor implanted unnecessary stents in hundreds of patients, FierceHealthcare previously reported.
He has since lost his medical license and struggles to find work, all while facing more than 200 patient lawsuits, noted the Sun.
His lawyers argue that St. Joseph used Midei to take the blame for the hospital's financial issues. However, St. Joseph's attorneys say the suit should be dismissed because the cardiologist signed a statement freeing the hospital from liability in November 2009, the article noted.
Circuit Judge Mickey Norman has not decided whether to carry the suit to jury trial.
In 2010, St. Joseph agreed to pay the government $22 million in separate settlement claims regarding kickbacks to MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates, which Midei cofounded.
Since then, at least three more cardiologists who had worked with Midei at MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates have been accused of unnecessary stenting, according to the Sun.
For more information:
- check out the Sun article
- read FierceHealthcare's previous coverage