Three female doctors sue L.A. County, alleging it ignored complaints about an abusive boss at Harbor-UCLA hospital

[kidthor]

I came across an interesting article today. It seems this ortho surgeon has been the subject of three lawsuits now. Beyond this one there was a vascular surgeon who won a jury verdict against the county for retaliation linked to him, plus a fired ortho resident has an active lawsuit (she alleged very similar conduct): Three female doctors sue L.A. County, alleging it ignored complaints about an abusive boss at Harbor-UCLA hospital

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[Guillemot]

Trainees have no rights 🤷‍♂️

 

[coffeebythelake]

Trainees have no rights 🤷‍♂️

False

 

[Guillemot]

False

I guess that means the pay out is going to be basically zero then since it would be difficult to demonstrate any damages for having rights that were respected.

 

[leggo_my_ecmo]

Fwiw none of these three were trainees. One was the EM PD, and another was/is head of peds ortho there.

 

[kidthor]

This one is a trainee in an entirely different lawsuit who apparently reported the same guy (among other things):

https://www.beckersspine.com/orthopedic/57067-orthopedic-surgeon-sues-ucla-for-alleged-discrimination.html

 

[gunnershow]

What does an orthopedic surgeon have to do with an EM program director being bumped out of her role? Why does it matter if he wore his police uniform & gun at work? This suit makes no sense. I'm sure he's a boor or whatever, but from the claims presented, it seems like they're just throwing s*** at the wall and hoping something sticks enough to score a nice payout.

 

[cchoukal]

Are volunteer deputies issued guns? Was he wearing his gun openly as a part of official duties? Does the hospital allow fire arms on private citizens? And in 2023, you just can't ask women at work to talk about sexual positions. Or finger patients' wounds and talk about G-spots. It's sexual harassment and it's against the law. This guy sounds like an a-hole who's trying to get laid at work.

 

[Ronin786]

What does an orthopedic surgeon have to do with an EM program director being bumped out of her role? Why does it matter if he wore his police uniform & gun at work? This suit makes no sense. I'm sure he's a boor or whatever, but from the claims presented, it seems like they're just throwing s*** at the wall and hoping something sticks enough to score a nice payout.

Did you even read the article? The EM PD complained about her residents encountering a toxic environment while on ortho and got demoted.

"When Kwong asked other Harbor-UCLA employees, “Who wants to take body shots off Dr. Badkoobehi?”

The chief of ortho talking about taking body shots off one of his colleagues sure doesn't sound like hoping something sticks.

 

[turnupthegas]

There is an Ortho or plastics guy like this at every hospital. Maybe minus the firearm in the hospital. Dwight Schrute energy

 

[anbuitachi]

its crazy that today so many surgeons can still do whatever they want and get away with it. when one type of doctor clearly has way more power than others on the team, it creates bad care

 

[coffeebythelake]

its crazy that today so many surgeons can still do whatever they want and get away with it. when one type of doctor clearly has way more power than others on the team, it creates bad care

They bring in the money so they are protected by thr admin.

 

[jjm285]

Between the sexual harassment and being a volunteer deputy he’s a perfect mash up of Todd Packer and Dwight Schrute.

 

[anbuitachi]

They bring in the money so they are protected by thr admin.

yes but amazing they cant pay that much and bring in another orthopedic surgeon to replace him?

 

[Volatile]

its crazy that today so many surgeons can still do whatever they want and get away with it. when one type of doctor clearly has way more power than others on the team, it creates bad care

Fortunately it’s becoming more and more rare. I think hospitals are realizing they can be on the hook if it’s well documented that malignant behavior was reported and tolerated by admin. When I first started training I felt like I never heard of surgeons being fired, now I’ve personally seen and heard of multiple surgeons being let go, including being escorted out of the hospital by security. Times have changed.

 

[Simba1711]

Unfortunately it’s still a very slow change compared to other jobs. They are way more lenient for malignant behavior at private practice compared to academic hospitals in my experience

 

[ProwlerturnGas]

At multiple facilities that I work, the women are way more open about sexual topics then the men are.

 

[triggermaster]

At multiple facilities that I work, the women are way more open about sexual topics than the men are.

That’s fine because only men can be sexist and only white men can be racist. Cleared by HR.

 

[DesiredMemberName?]

Unfortunately it’s still a very slow change compared to other jobs. They are way more lenient for malignant behavior at private practice compared to academic hospitals in my experience

My experience is the exact opposite. Trainees at academic centers are more likely to put up with this stuff. It’s usually not worth the possible reputation/career damage to speak out. The calculus is different for an attending in PP.

 

[Simba1711]

Yeah that makes sense. For me in private practice the hospitals would put up with surgeons because they brought patients and revenue

 

[UscGhost]

I spoke with some people who knew him and worked under him. From the sound of it, he took the usual OR banter to an extreme level, among other things. They were surprised it took this long.

Jokes are fine but you really have to read the room and understand who you are working with and where to draw the line. Sounds like this guy had no clue and just kept pushing things and was out of control.

 

[Blockit]

What kind of ridiculous asshat wears his uniform and gun to work as a physician when he’s a VOLUNTEER sheriff deputy? That one act alone reveals such a lack of judgement and professionalism that all of the subsequent allegations are completely believable.
And meanwhile, the rest of us work our butts off for $21 a unit Medicare reimbursement. F this tool. I hope he never practices again.

 

[triggermaster]

What kind of ridiculous asshat wears his uniform and gun to work as a physician when he’s a VOLUNTEER sheriff deputy? That one act alone reveals such a lack of judgement and professionalism that all of the subsequent allegations are completely believable.
And meanwhile, the rest of us work our butts off for $21 a unit Medicare reimbursement. F this tool. I hope he never practices again.

We have armed security so it doesn’t seem that strange.

 

[Blockit]

We have armed security so it doesn’t seem that strange.

Well so do we! Come on, y’all!

 

[narcotics999]

Unfortunately it’s still a very slow change compared to other jobs. They are way more lenient for malignant behavior at private practice compared to academic hospitals in my experience

At a place I work, the anesthesiologist in charge yelled at a gyn dude for being late for 20mins. OR staff is very short there. The neurosurgical team is complaining that the hospital recruits too many of them and they don’t have enough work.

I guess there are some changes.

 

[Gasworks]

I practice in FL and there is ZERO tolerance for this kind of behavior at my private hospitals and surgery centers. The bigger systems maintain peer
review files that are detailed and rather brutal which get sent to every new facility you want get credentialed at and there have been plenty of surgeons that we have passed on because of behavioral issues. Admin here uses the threat of NPDB reporting to instill fear of god and uses it to force resignations at the slightest hint of impropriety.

I have previously worked in the northeast and I understand fully that I could end my career if I pulled 1% of the crap I got away with every day up there. That said there are a handful of trash can hospitals out in the sticks where the otherwise unemployable eventually wind up but there is a definite zero tolerance policy at the bigger and better run facilities.

 

[kidthor]

I practice in FL and there is ZERO tolerance for this kind of behavior at my private hospitals and surgery centers. The bigger systems maintain peer
review files that are detailed and rather brutal which get sent to every new facility you want get credentialed at and there have been plenty of surgeons that we have passed on because of behavioral issues. Admin here uses the threat of NPDB reporting to instill fear of god and uses it to force resignations at the slightest hint of impropriety.

I have previously worked in the northeast and I understand fully that I could end my career if I pulled 1% of the crap I got away with every day up there. That said there are a handful of trash can hospitals out in the sticks where the otherwise unemployable eventually wind up but there is a definite zero tolerance policy at the bigger and better run facilities.

I've worked in a few hospitals now and I note a surprising amount of variation. Some hospitals are very professional while others are shockingly toxic and will punish anyone who speaks up.

I'm surprised that with Harbor-UCLA being a government institution there weren't more oversight mechanisms to prevent what seems like rampant corruption. There are usually layers of oversight with investigatory powers... But with this story and some other related ones, it seems as if corruption runs deep to keep a few bad actors in power - for entirely unclear reasons. This is all speculation and opinion of course.

 

[nimbus]

Sounds like a gem. Hopefully the monitor was a slave monitor.

“In another matter dubbed the “baseball incident,” Kwong purportedly ordered that a video monitor in the operating room used to display patients’ vital signs be switched off and used to display a baseball game so that residents could watch during surgery.”


Other stuff he did were much worse.

Harbor-UCLA placed on probation as sexual misconduct allegations swirl over former orthopedics chief

Accreditation agency finds the major LA County hospital in substantial noncompliance amid widespread complaints, lawsuits against its former orthopedics chief.

www.dailybreeze.com

 

[gunnershow]

Sounds like a gem. Hopefully the monitor was a slave monitor.

“In another matter dubbed the “baseball incident,” Kwong purportedly ordered that a video monitor in the operating room used to display patients’ vital signs be switched off and used to display a baseball game so that residents could watch during surgery.”


Other stuff he did were much worse.

Harbor-UCLA placed on probation as sexual misconduct allegations swirl over former orthopedics chief

Accreditation agency finds the major LA County hospital in substantial noncompliance amid widespread complaints, lawsuits against its former orthopedics chief.

www.dailybreeze.com

I don't see the big deal tbh. I'd rather those big screen vitals displays not be available for surgeons to look at anyway. Don't really need their commentary on how the blood pressure isn't low enough for their beach chair operation.

 

[nimbus]

I don't see the big deal tbh. I'd rather those big screen vitals displays not be available for surgeons to look at anyway. Don't really need their commentary on how the blood pressure isn't low enough for their beach chair operation.

You’re right. Might have been an important game.

 

[UscGhost]

You’re right. Might have been an important game.

Eww...baseball?