Patient Safety | 08.04.23
Doctor Sues Adena Health for Defamation After He Reported Misconduct
by NBC4 Columbus
A Chillicothe, Ohio, hospital is facing a lawsuit from Dr. James Manazer, the chief of surgery it fired after he voiced concerns about a cardiac procedure. Adena Health Systems fired Manazer and other employees back in May after a series of NBC4 investigations into multiple misconduct allegations at the Adena Regional Medical Center. Manazer is suing his former employer for wrongful termination and defamation after hospital administrators claimed he lied to the news outlet. Manazer was among NBC4's multiple anonymous sources within the hospital system who alleged that a doctor performed a specific cardiac surgery on as many as three patients prior to receiving the necessary credentials for the procedure. Manazer came forward publicly to defend his assertions after he was terminated. Manazer's lawsuit also charges that hospital executives requested that he "provide false statements" to the media about the misconduct allegations. He refused to do so. Adena Health CEO Jeff Graham, who previously sat down with NBC4 to deny allegations against the hospital system, is named in the suit, as are other hospital executives.
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