Baltimore cardiac surgeon Peter Horneffer, MD, has filed a lawsuit against St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Md., and its parent company, Catholic Health Initiatives, alleging the hospital threatened, harassed and discriminated against him for his participation in a whistleblower lawsuit, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Maryland, alleges that SJMC damaged Dr. Horneffer’s cardiac surgery practice by refusing to refer patients to him and instead directing them to MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates in the Baltimore area.
Dr. Horneffer is asking for an award of at least double back-pay from Jan. 1, 2001 to the present, according to the report, along with damages associated with lost wages. He is requesting a jury trial and seeking compensatory damages, an award of punitive damages and attorney fees.
SJMC said it “denies the charges and believes them to be entirely unfounded,” according to a statement in the report.
Dr. Horneffer’s current lawsuit stems from the whistleblower suit he and other cardiologists filed last year, alleging SJMC was illegally paying MidAtlantic kickbacks for patient referrals.
Read the Baltimore Business Journal report on St. Joseph Medical Center.
Read more about anti-kickback and false claims cases:
– 10 Big Anti-Kickback and Stark Cases Involving Hospitals in 2010
– 20 Largest False Claims Cases of 2010
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