Kaleida Health's former chief of surgery has accused the Buffalo, N.Y.-based system of harassing and punishing him for reporting patient safety concerns and professional misconduct, according to court documents obtained by Becker's.
Aaron Hoffman, MD, a bariatric surgeon who now works at Dallas-based Methodist Health System, alleges Kaleida and SUNY Buffalo Medical School leaders threatened the status of his medical license after he reported "egregious quality and patient safety concerns" concerning an unnamed physician.
Dr. Hoffman accuses Steven Schwaitzberg, MD, chair of the surgery department, and Alan Posner, MD, associate professor of surgery, of colluding to protect the physician.
He also said in the court documents that the late David Hughes, MD, and Michael Mineo, MD — Dr. Hughes' successor as chief medical officer — "explicitly threatened and intimidated to keep silent on these issues." Dr. Mineo allegedly told Dr. Hoffman to leave the system, of which he served as chief of surgery from about 2014 to 2019. Dr. Hoffman resigned in 2023.
He filed the lawsuit against the University at Buffalo (N.Y.), Kaleida, Dr. Mineo and Dr. Schwaitzberg on Aug. 7. He seeks the payment of his legal fees by the defendants, as well as lost and future earnings and benefits.
Kaleida told The Buffalo News it is aware of the lawsuit and strongly disagrees with "the content of the complaint," adding that it will not provide additional comment because this is personnel related.
Becker's has reached out to Kaleida Health and will update this article if more information becomes available.