Whistleblowing neurosurgeon awarded $17.5 million

Swedish Health of Seattle is challenging an arbitrator’s decision to award $17.5 million to a neurosurgeon fired last year. David Newell, MD, argued that his dismissal was in retaliation for reporting concerns about another top surgeon.

Newell was among several Swedish Health staffers who filed internal complaints regarding star surgeon Johnny Delashaw, MD. Newell had expressed concern that Delashaw was trying to marginalize him, dismantle his practice, and get him fired. Delashaw was the subject of a Seattle Times investigation earlier this year into the high volume of surgeries in Swedish Health’s neuroscience unit. He has since resigned and had his state license suspended.

According to Swedish Health, Newell was fired for failing to notify the organization that he had been arrested in a prostitution sting at a massage parlor in July 2016. Newell pleaded guilty to a charge of soliciting a prostitute and agreed to pay a fine and perform 80 hours of community service.

The arbitrator’s award includes $16.5 million for lost earnings and $1 million for emotional distress. Newell’s attorneys have requested that a judge confirm the award. Swedish Health is challenging the award, arguing that it should be tossed out or modified based on Newell's projected earnings for one year, the length of his contract. To earn $16.5 million in one year, Newell would have to perform 3,000 complex brain-aneurysm repairs.

Source: The Seattle Times