geon's challenge.
In a separate suit in Ohio, in 1993, a male surgeon allegedly grabbed
a female nurse by the shoulder and pulled her face close to a patient's
surgical incision after she supposedly gave him the wrong surgical
instruments. She claimed he then said, "Can't you see where I'm work-
ing? I'm working in a hole. I need long instruments." The nurse sued
the surgeon for intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery.
Although the Ohio Court of Appeals concluded the nurse had not
established emotional distress, the court let her battery claim proceed.
If relevant, a pattern of workplace bullying might also add to the
damages and claims sought in a medical malpractice suit. For exam-
ple, a plaintiff's attorney might allege a facility was well aware of the
individual's bullying and failed to address it, thus trying to seek "puni-
tive damages." (Punitive damages are additional monetary damages,
which are above and beyond those needed to compensate the injured
party; these damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 2 9
employee healthcare providers.
q 8. Use these policies and procedures to set forth a continuum
of responses, ranging from informal meeting, education,
additional training, warnings and counseling, and moving to
disciplinary action and corrective action, as appropriate.
Implement the process fairly, whether through human
resources, the medical director or referral to the facility's
medical staff and wellness committees. Corrective action
should be consistent with your facility's medical staff bylaws
if privileges are affected. Document the problematic behav-
ior at issue, plus the attempts and actions you've taken to
address the behavior.
Angela T. Burnette, Esq., Rebecca Kennedy, Esq., and Genta Iwasaki
