Former Good Samaritan Medical Center Doctor Sues SCL Health, Alleges She Was Fired for Protesting Unsafe Conditions
A Colorado cardiologist is suing SCL Health after she was fired, in what she says was retaliation for raising concerns about unsafe conditions that contributed to a patient’s death.
Dr. Payal Kohli was a cardiologist at Good Samaritan Medical Center, in Lafayette, from 2017 to 2019. In her lawsuit, she said at least eight patients received substandard care in summer 2019, and a 29-year-old man died when no one was available to put in a pacemaker he needed.
The patient’s heart stopped repeatedly while he waited for help, according to the lawsuit. He was eventually taken to University of Colorado Hospital, where he died.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Boulder County District Court, alleges leadership at Good Samaritan and SCL ordered cardiologists to cover the emergency room and intensive-care unit during times when they were already scheduled to see patients in their offices. One physician who was qualified to do procedures like placing pacemakers also had to cover multiple hospitals because the system didn’t have enough cardiologists, according to the lawsuit.