Surgeon sues UT Southwestern under whistle-blower act

He says medical school demoted him after he aired Parkland concerns
By KIM BREEN / The Dallas Morning News - Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Trauma residents at Parkland Memorial Hospital have performed surgical procedures without proper supervision, a surgeon and former division chair at UT Southwestern Medical Center alleges in a lawsuit filed last week.

Dr. Larry Gentilello, former chair of the Division of Burn, Trauma and Critical Care, is suing UT Southwestern under Texas' whistle-blower act. He alleges he was demoted and stripped of an endowed position after raising concerns about patients receiving improper care at the county hospital.

"Because this is pending litigation, we cannot discuss these allegations at this time," said John Walls, assistant vice president for public affairs at UT Southwestern.

Parkland is the primary training site of residents affiliated with the UT Southwestern Medical School. Parkland officials declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

Visiting Judge Richard Davis issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting UT Southwestern from filling Dr. Gentilello's former positions. The order expires June 29. A temporary injunction hearing has been scheduled for June 28.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Gentilello, a tenured professor of surgery, became aware of problems with patient care, resident supervision and operating room and patient treatment protocols that violated Medicare and Medicaid requirements and procedures.

"Plaintiff observed that the patients at Parkland were being treated by residents with no attending physicians present and were undergoing surgical procedures with no attending physicians in the operating room during critical phases of surgery," the lawsuit states.

Parkland patients are typically indigent and primarily minority, it continues.

At UT Southwestern University Hospital's Zale Lipshy building, where patients are not indigent, the lawsuit states, attending physicians are present during treatment and procedures.
The lawsuit alleges Dr. Gentilello was stripped of his positions in March after notifying a superior about the alleged problems.

Dr. Gentilello did not return a call for comment. His attorney, Charla Aldous, said in a prepared statement that Dr. Gentilello has dedicated his professional life to caring for trauma victims, and that his distinguished career is what led UT Southwestern to recruit him.

"But when he tried to correct the gaps in emergency surgical services by ensuring that residents were being appropriately supervised by faculty, certain powers at UTSW stopped him and demoted him in retaliation."

She added:

"We want to make it clear that this suit does not allege any wrongdoing on the part of Parkland but rather seeks to ensure that Parkland patients are receiving the medical services they deserve."

The whistle-blower act prohibits government entities from retaliating against public employees who report a violation of law.

Dr. Gentilello is seeking reinstatement to his positions, attorney fees and damages.

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