Cook County told to pay $7.6 million in hospital retaliation lawsuit

Cook County told to pay $7.6 million in hospital retaliation lawsuit


By Erika Slife, Chicago Tribune reporter

10:17 PM CST, December 14, 2011

Cook County and its former chairman of pathology have been told to pay a physician $7.6 million for retaliating against her after she filed a federal lawsuit claiming racial and gender discrimination.

A federal jury late Monday agreed with assertions that Dr. Vivian Renta, 59, was discriminated against by the county and Dr. Russell Tomar and other administrators who attempted to damage her credibility and reputation and undermine her ability to practice medicine.

Renta, who was a senior attending physician in the county's pathology department, claimed in her suit that Tomar and other administrators retaliated against her for being outspoken about alleged "misdiagnosis, negligence, acts of concealment and other wrongdoing" within the department that affected the welfare of patients at Stroger Hospital.

Tomar could not be reached, and a spokeswoman for the Cook County Health and Hospital System declined to comment Wednesday.

In February 2003, Renta, who is Puerto Rican, filed a charge of discrimination with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging she had been harassed and paid less than her peers because of her heritage and gender, the complaint said. Three months later, she was suspended.

In September 2004, she was terminated after working nine years for the county.

State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's office argued that Renta "was found to have misdiagnosed several patients with cancer" and "repeatedly failed to follow established protocols and policies," according to spokesman Andrew Conklin.

"Specifically … she told some of her patients they had cancer when in fact they did not and others they did not have cancer when they did," Conklin said in an email.

Renta denied the accusations. In court, Renta provided evidence that said her error rate was better than the national average, said her attorney Robert Sweeney. A peer-review committee of doctors also twice exonerated her of any grave wrongdoing, according to Sweeney and court transcripts.

Instead, Renta argued that she had been persecuted for her candor regarding the department's "reputation among clinicians for defensiveness and obstructionism in refusing to admit to fault or error," according to her complaint.

She and another doctor, an oncologist gynecologist who also was outspoken about his concerns with the department, were "labeled as disruptive," Sweeney said. The two doctors "were willing to talk about mistakes to figure out how to address them, correct them, or to determine whether they were in fact mistakes," Sweeney said.

Conklin said there are still post-trial motions to be resolved before an appeal could be considered.

The jury wants the county to pay Renta $4 million for pain and suffering, as well as another $3.2 million in lost wages and benefits. The jury also wants Tomar to pay $400,000.

The judge could reduce the jury verdict however. Pain and suffering and other punitive damages could be limited to $300,000.

Please read complete article at link below:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cook-county-hospital-settlement-20111215,0,3679291.story

Editor's note: Are any criminal charges pending against Tomar?  If not...why not?  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster,  ProbateSharks.com