Surgeon sues peers, hospitals for $17m over alleged payback bid
A long-running and bitter fight between some of the state’s top weight loss surgeons has reignited with one slapping a $17m lawsuit on his surgical colleagues alleging they “conspired” to damage his reputation.
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A long-running and bitter fight between some of the state’s top weight loss surgeons has reignited with one slapping his surgical colleagues with a new $17m lawsuit alleging they “conspired” to damage his reputation and lose him lucrative surgical work in a targeted payback campaign.
William Braun, 46, a weight-loss surgeon who lives in the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton, claims in documents filed in the Federal Court earlier this month that four surgical colleagues, Metro North Hospital and Health Service and private hospital St Vincent’s in Chermside should be found liable for his loss of earnings.
One surgeon argued outside of court that Dr Braun’s lawsuit will effectively put “on trial” the vital patient and workplace safeguard whereby doctors must report their concerns of medical malpractice or workplace bullying or sexual harassment.
Dr Braun, who used to work at Redcliffe hospital, has been unable to work as a surgeon since February 27, 2019 when he was suspended on full pay by Metro North Hospital and Health Service (Metro North) amid an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) into claims made in documents tabled in state parliament.
The claims included that he dropped his pants in the operating theatre to get measured for a new suit, sexually harassed his colleagues and was clinically incompetent.
The statements tendered in parliament include calling him a sociopath, a bully, a danger to his patients and a sexual harasser.
The ongoing OHO investigation relates to complaints about 23 for Braun’s former patients.
Dr Braun claims his suspension from Metro North in 2019 also forced him to take indefinite leave from his lucrative private surgical lists at North West Private Hospital, from which he lost his accreditation on October 6 last year.
Dr Braun argues in his court claim that four surgeons: Robert Finch, George Hopkins, Nick O’Rourke and Michael Hatzifotis conspired to injure him by unlawful means, causing him to suffer extensive harm and damage to his reputation, career, income and health by reporting him to hospital management.
Dr Braun alleges the four surgeons began “a targeted campaign to retaliate against” him in about 2018 after Dr Braun made eight complaints about doctors Finch, Hopkins, O’Rourke and former trainee Dr Bree Hobbins-King to their top managers at both St Vincent's hospital and Metro North, as well as to the OHO about Dr Hopkins and Dr Finch, between September 2016 and January 2019.
In one complaint, in June 2017, Dr Braun told a Metro North HR boss that he “had concerns about” Dr Finch, Dr Hopkins and Dr O’Rourke “acting in concert in hiding their complications including at Royal Brisbane Hospital”.
In another complaint made by Dr Braun, he told Metro North managers that his former trainee surgeon at Redcliffe Hospital, Dr Hobbins-King had made “perceived defamatory comments to colleagues” about him.
Dr Braun alleges the retaliation campaign included Dr Finch telling him: “Oh, you are still practising mate? We are all aware of your complaints about us” at a weight-loss surgery industry function in April 2018 and of sending him an “intimidatory text” messages and making intimidatory communications by phone on January 20, 2019.
He also accused Dr Finch of trying to “damage” Dr Braun by talking about him on air on ABC News in March 2020 and by “briefing” a tabloid TV show and procuring Dr Braun’s former patients to appear on it.
He also accuses Dr Finch of giving shadow health Minister Ros Bates documents to be tabled in parliament to damage Dr Braun’s reputation and practice “when the proper course for any legitimate complaint was to raise the matter with the proper regulatory authority”.
Dr Braun also accuses Dr Hatzifotis of deliberately including false allegations that Dr Braun sexually harassed female hospital staff in the letter that he gave to Ms Bates to table in parliament.
Dr Braun alleges that Dr Hatzifotis approached hospital staffer Emma Currin and told her “that there was a group of surgeons moving against (Dr Braun) to ‘bring him down’,” and “insisted” she make a sexual harassment complaint against Dr Braun.
Ms Currin declined to make a complaint and said she had never been sexually harassed by Dr Braun, the claim states.
Dr Braun’s claims against Metro North allege they should have protected him from adverse action under laws protecting whistleblowers.
He has also sued St Vincent's hospital alleging they failed to protect him from the “unreasonable conduct” of doctors Finch, Hopkins and O’Rourke, and protect him from retribution.
Dr Braun is claiming $11m in past lost earnings and $6.2m in future lost earnings.
Dr Braun alleges in his court claim the saga began in September 2016 when Dr Braun told the St Vincent's Director of Clinical Services, Libby Linley, that Dr Finch “appeared to be shielding or covering” Dr Hopkins’ surgical complications through the morbidity and mortality processes.
He alleges that “in retaliation” Dr Finch and Dr O’Rourke each made complaints about him to St Vincent’s top management in December 2016, with Dr Finch allegedly complaining to then-St Vincent’s CEO Daniele Doyle about Dr Braun’s treatment of a patient discussed at a morbidity and mortality meeting the previous month.
Dr Braun also alleges that Dr O’Rourke approached Trevor Fayers, St Vincent’s director of medical services, in December 2016 and asked him if the hospital was “considering” sacking Dr Braun “due to alleged sexual misconduct”.
Speaking outside of court Dr Hopkins told The Sunday-Mail that he would be vigorously defending the claim and he was keenly awaiting the outcome of the OHO investigation into Dr Braun.
Dr Hopkins said that this case was essentially putting the concept of “mandatory reporting” on trial.
Dr Hopkins was surprised that there were only four people named in the claim “because more than four submitted concerns” about Dr Braun to healthcare regulators.
Dr Hopkins said the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency mandated 18 years ago that doctors must report concerns about patient or workplace misconduct or bullying, even when concerns are not yet proven.
Speaking outside of court Dr Finch told The Sunday-Mail: “We are planning to defend it as vigorously as we can.
“We certainly don’t feel as if we have done anything wrong, and our only motivations really have been to look after our junior colleagues and trainees and patients,” Dr Finch said.
“We are eagerly awaiting the results of the OHO investigation. We feel quite confident in our own ethics and behaviour.”
Dr O’Rourke and Dr Hatzifotis did not respond for requests for comment but are understood to be defending the claim.
No defence has been filed and no hearing date has been set.
EIGHT COMPLAINTS MADE ABOUT HIS PEERS BY DR BRAUN TO EITHER HIS HOSPITAL BOSSES OR THE OFFICE OF THE HEALTH OMBUDSMAN.
* source: statement of claim filed in the Federal Court.
1. September 2016 - Dr Braun tells Libby Linley, director of clinical services at St Vincent’s Hospital Chermside that George Hopkins had a number of serious complications and that surgeon Robert Finch “appeared to be shielding or covering” Dr Hopkins’ complications through the morbidity and mortality processes.
2. 21 December 2016 - Dr Braun complained about the conduct of Dr Finch, Dr Hopkins and Dr O’Rourke to Trevor Fayers, director of medical services at St Vincent’s Hospital and Daniele Doyle, CEO of St Vincent’s. He also complained about Dr Hopkins’ treatment of a single patient - the one discussed at the November 8, 2016 morbidity and mortality meeting where Dr Braun alleges the three doctors “screamed, yelled, swore at him and humiliated him in front of his peers.
3. 13 January 2017 - Dr Braun complains to Dr Fayers from St Vincent’s about unspecified behaviour by Dr Finch, Dr Hopkins and Dr O’Rourke
4. 1 March 2017 - Dr Braun complains to Dr Fayers about the unspecified conduct of Dr Finch and Dr Hopkins.
5. 9 May 2017 - Dr Braun complains to Dr Fayers about unspecified behaviour by Dr Finch, Dr Hopkins and Dr O’Rourke
6. 20 April 2017 - Dr Braun makes a disclosure to the Office of the Health Ombudsman regarding the clinical performance of Dr Hopkins including “significant complications and adverse outcomes for patients”, and the conduct of Dr Finch.
7. 30 June 2017 - Dr Braun complains about the clinical performance and conduct of Dr Finch, Dr Hopkins and Dr O’Rourke to Metro North’s director of human resources and says he had concerns about the three men “acting in concert in hiding their complications including at RBWH”.
8. 16 January 2019 - Dr Braun complains about his former surgical trainee at Redcliffe Hospital, Dr Bree Hobbins-King allegedly making “perceived defamatory comments” about him to his peers at surgical events. Dr Braun complains to Metro North, which oversees Redcliffe Hospital.
ALLEGATIONS OF ALLEGED COERCIVE ACTIONS TAKEN BY DR ROBERT FINCH TO COERCE DR BRAUN NOT TO EXERCISE HIS WORKPLACE RIGHT TO REPORT BEHAVIOUR TO HIS BOSSES.
1. 8 November 2016 - Dr Finch is alleged to have criticised Dr Braun’s care of a St Vincent’s patient during a mortality and morbidity meeting.
2. Dr Finch is alleged to have screamed/yelled/sworn and humiliated Dr Braun at the above meeting
3. December 2016 - Dr Finch is alleged to have complained about Dr Braun’s treatment of the same St Vincent’s patient to the CEO of St Vincent’s hospital. Dr Braun alleges this complaint was designed to trigger Dr Braun’s suspension from St Vincent’s.
4. Dr Finch is alleged to have told Dr Fayers from St Vincent’s that he was seeking “incriminating dirt” on Dr Braun.
5. Dr Fayers allegedly told Dr Braun that Drs Finch, Hopkins and O’Rourke were trying to get Dr Braun “restricted by the hospital”
6. Dr Fayers allegedly told Dr Braun that Dr Finch knew that Dr Braun had reported Dr Hopkins to the OHO on April 20, 2017 for complications and adverse outcomes and that Dr Finch “wanted to retaliate” against Dr Braun.
ALLEGATIONS OF ALLEGED COERCIVE ACTIONS TAKEN BY DR GEORGE HOPKINS TO COERCE DR BRAUN NOT TO EXERCISE HIS WORKPLACE RIGHT TO REPORT BEHAVIOUR TO HIS BOSSES.
1. 8 November 2016 - Dr Hopkins is alleged to have criticised Dr Braun’s care of a St Vincent’s patient during a mortality and morbidity meeting.
2. Dr Hopkins is alleged to have screamed/yelled/sworn and humiliated Dr Braun at the above meeting
3. Dr Fayers allegedly told Dr Braun that Drs Finch, Hopkins and O’Rourke were trying to get Dr Braun “restricted by the hospital” in March 2017
ALLEGATIONS OF ALLEGED COERCIVE ACTIONS TAKEN BY DR NICK O’ROURKE TO COERCE DR BRAUN NOT TO EXERCISE HIS WORKPLACE RIGHT TO REPORT BEHAVIOUR TO HIS BOSSES.
1. 8 November 2016 - Dr Finch is alleged to have criticised Dr Braun’s care of a St Vincent’s patient during a mortality and morbidity meeting.
2. Dr O’Rourke is alleged to have screamed/yelled/sworn and humiliated Dr Braun at the above meeting
3. December 2016 - Dr O’Rourke is alleged to have asked Dr Fayers if St Vincent’s was “considering terminating” Dr Braun “due to alleged sexual misconduct”.
4. December 2016 - Dr O’Rourke allegedly approached Dr Fayers telling him that he needed to consider removing Dr Braun from the hospital, and Dr O’Rourke allegedly made a number of allegations of sexual misconduct against Dr Braun. Dr Fayers is alleged to have told Dr O’Rourke that he was unable to remove Dr Braun from the hospital because there “was no evidence” to support the sexual misconduct claims.
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