Hagen v. Siouxland Obstetrics & Gynecology, P.C. – Aug. 2013 (Summary)

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT – PUBLIC POLICY

Hagen v. Siouxland Obstetrics & Gynecology, P.C., No. C 11-4047-MWB (N.D. Iowa Aug. 29, 2013)

An obstetrician who was on call provided obstetrical services to a woman who was suffering from infections related to a prior liver transplant.  The on-call physician spoke to the woman’s regular OB, but the regular OB thought the woman was at another hospital and did not come into treat her.

When the on-call physician got to the hospital, he found that the baby had died.  When the physician asked the nurses how long the baby had been dead, they could not tell him.  The physician became upset and accused the nurses of doing nothing to help the unborn child and of causing the death.  The physician then told the parents that the nurses missed something.  The physician also went directly to the hospital and told the hospital what he had told to the nurses and reported the nurses and the regular OB to the Board of Medicine.  He also told the patient that she was mistreated and should get an attorney.

The on-call physician was given a ten-day suspension, but did not discipline the nurses or the regular OB.  Within days, while he was out of town, he was told he needed to come to a meeting that night and he was being fired.  He subsequently sued in federal court claiming, among other things, that his employer retaliated against him in violation of public policy.  After a jury trial, the jury found in the physician’s favor and awarded him over $1 million in damages.

In order to determine whether the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa should uphold the jury verdict, the district court recognized that the wrongful discharge issues raised by the physician were issues of first impression of state law that needed to be decided by the Iowa Supreme Court.  The district court noted that other state courts are split on these issues of wrongful discharge, further highlighting the importance of certification to the Iowa Supreme Court.  As a result, the district court certified a number of questions to the Iowa Supreme Court and will not issue a ruling on the employer’s post-trial motion until it receives this guidance from the State Supreme Court.