Jehan Zeb Mir, M.D. v. Charter Suburban Hospital; Robert Beltran, M.D.; Ceferino Cheng, M.D.; Roberto Chiprut, M.D.; Lawrence Cohn, M.D.; Camilo S. Jorge, M.D.; Samia A. Khwaja, M.D.; Martin A. Kurland, M.D.; John A. Kurnick, M.D.; Keith
Published: Sep. 19, 1998 | Result Date: Jun. 30, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: NC010339 Bench Decision – $0
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Compton
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Linda Miller Savitt
(Ballard, Rosenberg, Golper & Savitt LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Arthur R. Chenen
(Theodora Oringher PC)
(technical)
Richard Crass
(medical)
Defendant
Carl I. Blau
(medical)
Mark Kadzielski
(technical)
Facts
On June 10, 1988, the Medical Executive Committee of the medical staff of Charter Suburban Hospital filed a statement of charges against Dr. Jehan Zeb Mir, a thoracic surgeon, and recommended that his privileges at the hospital be terminated. Thereafter, a Judicial Review Committee (JRC) of three physicians heard evidence concerning the charges against Mir. In December 1988, the JRC rendered a decision which found against Mir on one of the charges and recommended that he be placed on probation for his next ten major abdominal or thoracic surgeries and his next six endoscopies performed at the hospital. The hospital's governing board upheld the JRC decision. Mir obtained a writ of mandate from the Superior Court which overturned the final disciplinary action against him at the hospital and then brought a tort suit against the hospital and over a dozen physicians who served at multiple levels of the hospital's medical staff committees. Those committees had reviewed Mir's care of patients and recommended disciplinary action against Mir after finding that Mir engaged in unnecessary surgery and displayed poor medical judgment. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $10 million. The defendants offered $100,000.
Damages
The plaintiff alleged damages of $10 million for alleged loss of income and damage to reputation.
Other Information
The decision was reached approximately five years and five months after the case was filed. In a one month long jury trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard L. Fruin concluded that the evidence presented at trial showed that the doctors and hospital had probable cause to take the disciplinary action against Mir, that they had no malice toward Mir, and that they were not liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Judge Fruin granted nonsuit in favor of five of the defendant doctors at the close of plaintiff's case in chief and dismissed the remaining defendant doctors and the hospital on a motion for directed verdict after all of the evidence was presented but before jury deliberation.
Length
one month
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