The Shadow
WARM SPRINGS — Dr. James Redington has filed a $21.4 million lawsuit against Bath Community Hospital over a decision not to renew his contract.
The lawsuit, filed in Bath County Circuit Court Wednesday, seeks actual damages totaling $20 million from four defendants. It also seeks punitive damages totaling $1.4 million.
Redington’s lawsuit names the hospital, its chief executive officer, Jason Paret, and board members David Troast and Sarah McWilliams as defendants. Troast and McWilliams are co-chairs of the hospital’s board of directors.
Redington’s departure from the hospital has touched off a wave of controversy in Bath County. At a public meeting held at Bath County High School Tuesday night, citizens demanded that Redington be reinstated by the hospital board.
During the Tuesday night meeting, it was reported that the hospital board is negotiating to bring Redington back to the hospital.
The lawsuit says that Redington, who had been a practicing physician at the hospital for 26 years, was informed Aug. 22 that his contract would not be renewed.
The suit says the hospital terminated Redington’s contract after he declined to accept a retirement offer.
Following Redington’s departure in August, four other physicians — Asher Brown, Michael Bost, Jeff McCray and John Stout — submitted their resignations.
Redington had served in several capacities during his 26 years at the hospital. At the time of his release, he was medical director and primary attending physician for the hospital and its emergency room and clinic. Redington was also a member of the hospital’s board of directors.
The lawsuit claims that Redington had differences with Paret regarding the direction and policies of the hospital, particularly following a highly publicized November 2013 incident involving a psychiatric patient.
The suit alleges that Paret “attempted to eliminate [Redington’s] opposition” by excluding him from board meetings.
According to the lawsuit, Bath Community Hospital was cited May 1 for inconsistencies in its policies and federal and state laws regarding its emergency care of psychiatric patients. The suit alleges that Paret, Troast and Bath Community Hospital tried to shift the blame for the hospital’s policies to Redington. The defendants made false statements that damaged Redington and his professional reputation, the suit claims.
The suit further alleges that following the highly publicized November 2013 incident involving a male resident of Bath County, Bath Community Hospital implemented new policies for psychiatric patients. Redington argued against the policies, the suit said, saying they continued to violate state and federal laws and interfered with patients’ rights.
In particular, Redington was critical of the hospital’s policies regarding emergency psychiatric care.
According to his lawsuit, Paret, fearing further regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the November 2013 incident, implemented a policy mandating that psychiatric patients entering the hospital emergency room for evaluation be transported via ambulance to another medical facility, irregardless of mental competency.
The lawsuit notes that the policy requires the patient to bear the cost of the ambulance service, which resulted in a financial benefit to Bath Community Hospital, since the hospital owns the ambulance services.
“Redington felt this Bath Community Hospital policy to be contrary to state law and opposed the mandated ambulance transfer … ,” the suit says.
Redington’s arguments against the policy centers on the fact that medically stable patients brought to the hospital under a temporary detention order are in police custody and transported by sheriff’s deputies.
He further argued that patients have a right to refuse a transfer by ambulance.
The lawsuit says that after Redington opposed the polices, “Bath Community Hospital, Paret and Troast engaged in a campaign of disinformation designed to discredit Redington through the publication of defamatory statements regarding Redington’s integrity and fitness to perform his job duties.”
The lawsuit alleges that in August, Paret and Troast advised a hospital employee that Redington violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act in November 2013 and cost the hospital $160,000 in legal and consultation fees.
The suit alleges that Paret and Troast advised the employee that Redington would have committed another violation in July but was stopped by the director of nursing.
The suit claims that Paret and Troast told the hospital employee that Redington “had an unstable risk tolerance level that jeopardized the hospital and that he was unstable.”
According to the suit, Paret and Troast called Redington into a meeting Aug. 22 and advised him that if he declined to accept an offered retirement agreement, his employment at the hospital would be terminated.
The suit accuses Paret and Troast of telling members of the Bath Community Hospital board that Redington “was unstable” and his professional judgement “was impaired, requiring his release from active patient care.”
Other members of the hospital board are Dr. Michael Bost, Wiley King Jr., Amory Mellen III, George Phillips, Tracy Phillips and Ruth Rodgers.
The suit alleges that Troast and Paret approached the board members individually “for the purpose of shifting blame from themselves and the board and using Remington as a scapegoat for Bath Community Hospital’s regulatory difficulties.”
Count I of the lawsuit alleges defemation and seeks $5 million from each defendant for actual damages and $350,000 from each defendant for punitive damage.
Count II of the suit asks the court to issue an injunction reinstating Redington to the Bath Community Hospital Board. It also asks the court to void action taken by the board in meetings that Redington was excluded from attending.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Dabney L. Pasco Sr. of Hot Springs and Harris D. Butler III and Paul M. Falabella of the Richmond law firm of Butler Royals.
