A Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System nurse filed a lawsuit against a physician colleague last week alleging the anesthesiologist purposely sprayed him with a patient's body fluid while he was assisting during a surgery, according to The Baltimore Sun.
A lawyer on behalf of Benjamin Waldbaum, CRNA, told The Baltimore Sun Mr. Waldbaum was "horrified" by the physician's behavior.
According to court documents filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court last week and obtained by The Baltimore Sun, Mr. Waldbaum was assisting Martin Slodzinski, MD, PhD, with a surgery, during which Dr. Slodzinski allegedly made inappropriate comments about the patient, a recovering heroin addict. Dr. Slodzinski allegedly proceeded to unscrew the syringe from the patient's IV and sprayed the fluid, which landed on Mr. Waldbaum's face and torso.
Mr. Waldbaum also claimed Dr. Slodzinski said he behaved as such so Mr. Waldbaum would "know what it feels like to be high," and that he was "going to get [Mr. Waldbaum] high with this freebie," the report states.
The lawsuit, which also names the The Johns Hopkins Health System and Johns Hopkins University as defendants, claimed Dr. Slodzinski is still employed at the health system despite a history of "abusive and improper" behavior, including throwing patients' IVs and screaming at subordinates, according to The Baltimore Sun.
In a statement to the publication, a Johns Hopkins spokesperson said, "We take these allegations very seriously and cannot comment on ongoing litigation."
Editor's note: Becker's Hospital Review reached out to The Johns Hopkins Health System for comment and will update the report as more information becomes available.