In his 2009 lawsuit, Dr. Williams accused University Medical Center and its former chief of staff, John Ellerton, MD, of violating his due process rights by suspending him without giving him adequate notice of the allegations against him. Dr. Williams’ suspension was based on complications that occurred during a kidney transplant performed in 2005.
According to the report, Dr. Williams and his legal counsel allege the hospital accused him of drug abuse to protect the hospital’s transplant program. Attorney Jacob Hafter said Dr. Williams presented numerous drug screens to counter the allegations of substance abuse but was allegedly ignored by the hospital.
Before the trial, which began May 16, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro found that Dr. Ellerton and UMC’s medical staff had violated Dr. Williams’ due process rights. Mr. Hafter asked jurors to award Dr. Williams $24 million in compensatory damages plus punitive damages. The jury decided not to award punitive damages.
The two parties reached an agreement before the trial that reduced the judgment to $6.5 million, which the defendants agreed to pay within 14 days. UMC also agreed to void entries in the National Practitioner Data Bank that describe Dr. Williams as a threat to patient health and safety.
Read the Las Vegas Review-Journal report on University Medical Center.
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