Doctor sues allegation-laden Ohio hospital for defamation

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH) — A Chillicothe hospital is facing a lawsuit from the chief of surgery it fired after he raised concerns about a cardiac procedure to NBC4.

Adena Health Systems fired Dr. James Manazer and other employees in May after a series of NBC4 investigations into multiple misconduct allegations at the Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe. Manazer is now suing his former employer for wrongful termination and defamation after hospital administrators claimed he lied to NBC4.

Police union fights Circleville officer’s firing as K9 attack victim retains civil rights attorney

Manazer was one NBC4’s multiple anonymous sources within the hospital system who claimed a doctor performed a specific cardiac surgery on as many as three patients before receiving the necessary credentials for the procedure. After Adena fired Manazer, he came forward publicly to defend his assertions.

His complaint, filed Thursday in the Ross County Court of Common Pleas, points to a memo sent to hospital staff after Manazer was fired that claimed he “admitted to providing an interview to NBC4 that relayed false and defamatory information about Adena and its physicians.” Manazer’s lawsuit also claims that hospital executives asked him to “provide false statements” to the media about the misconduct allegations, which he refused to do.

Adena Health CEO Jeff Graham, who previously sat down with NBC4 to deny allegations against the hospital system, is named in the suit, as are other hospital executives.

Man accused of threatening to burn down Ohio Planned Parenthood clinic

“Adena’s false statements reflect upon Dr. Manazer’s character in a manner that has and will forever cause him professional and reputational damage,” a press release from Leeseberg Tuttle and The Friedmann Firm, law firms representing Manazer, states. “In addition to the reputational harm, Dr. Manazer’s patients are now left without his services, as a result of him losing privileges to work at Adena.”

A flurry of misconduct allegations surround Adena Health System, including from former patients and employees who have said the hospital failed to address their reports of sexual harassment and assault by medical providers. Adena has repeatedly denied all allegations against it.

Adena Health Systems did not respond to a request for comment.

Close Modal

Suggest a Correction

Suggest a Correction

No Byline Policy

Editorial Guidelines

Corrections Policy

Source