Northwell Health, based in New Hyde Park, N.Y., is being sued over racial and gender discrimination by a Black female cardiologist who had privileges in the system beginning in the late 1990s, according to a lawsuit filed March 20 in the Eastern District of New York.
In the complaint, Leigh Ann Hutchinson, MD, alleges "decades of racial discrimination that damaged her reputation and chances for advancement." Further, from 2004 to 2022, Dr. Hutchinson said she was "degraded and victimized," which led to embarrassment and emotional distress.
She claims actions taken by Northwell Health following a 2004 patient death at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y., caused her to suffer "extreme humiliation" and "loss of self-esteem and self-confidence."
These actions, the lawsuit alleges, include "restricting privileges and ability to perform basic and complex electrophysiology procedures, intentionally damaging her reputation in the medical community with physicians, administrators, nurses, clerks and patients, divesting [Dr. Hutchinson] of patient-clients which in turn accounted for a material portion of her yearly compensation and subjecting her to further, conspicuous disparate treatment in connection with her yearly compensation."
Dr. Hutchinson is seeking financial damages to cover her legal fees and to "otherwise make her whole for any losses suffered as a result of such unlawful employment practices," according to the complaint.
Dr. Hutchinson's attorney, Marjorie Mesidor, managing partner at Phillips & Associates' Long Island office in Garden City, N.Y., told Becker's this is a "clear case of racial discrimination."
"Dr. Hutchinson is the only Black female who works within this specialty on Long Island. "She was cleared by three peer reviews — a hospital review, an independent review and a third peer review she paid for herself," the attorney said, noting Dr. Hutchinson's white male colleagues, who had also suffered mortalities while performing the same procedure, "were not subjected to the same penalties" as Dr. Hutchinson — "let alone any disciplinary action in many instances."
Northwell Health issued a statement in response to Becker's request for comment on the case: "As this matter is in active litigation, it is our policy not to comment regarding the allegations."
Dr. Hutchinson was not employed by Northwell Health but instead had a relationship in which the two entities referred patients to each other. The health system did confirm that Dr. Hutchinson "has had voluntary privileges at South Shore University Hospital since June 1996 which allows her to admit patients to SSUH while maintaining a private clinical practice independent of the hospital."
Dr. Hutchinson is listed on Northwell Health's "find a doctor" page as currently having medical privileges at SSUH. However, Ms. Mesidor said her client "is not permitted to practice medicine" at Northwell Health.
With regard to the timing of the filing of the lawsuit in March, Ms. Mesidor said the decision to file the complaint followed a probable cause determination issued by the New York State Division of Human Rights in mid-2022 in response to a discrimination complaint filed by Dr. Hutchinson against Northwell in February 2021.
The history
Dr. Hutchinson, who maintains a private cardiology practice in Hauppauge, N.Y., began seeing patients at SSUH in the late 1990s and founded the electrophysiology lab there in 1999. She trained others in the procedure protocols she created and was named chair of the newly established electrophysiology department at the hospital.
She performed over 200 successful atrial fibrillation ablation procedures at SSUH between January 2000 and September 2004.
In July 2004, a patient died of complications from a "complex invasive electrophysiology procedure" performed by Dr. Hutchinson to treat a rare and complex arrhythmia.
A standard review was conducted by Northwell Health following the incident and a second independent review and investigation of the case was conducted. Both found Dr. Hutchinson's performance complied with Northwell Health's protocols and procedures, according to the complaint. Dr. Hutchinson paid for an independent review by three experienced electrophysiologists, which confirmed the findings of the two other reviews.
It was determined the patient died due to "one of several known potential complications of the procedure," the complaint said.
However, Dr. Hutchinson contends that, despite the findings of the three reviews, Northwell Health "disciplined" her using "various threats" and "coerced [her] to accept a moratorium of her ability to handle any electrophysiology cases at Southside Hospital, any of its locations, and at any of its affiliated hospitals, for a period of three months."
In the lawsuit, Dr. Hutchinson claims the moratorium was a means to "push her out of her core practice."
Dr. Hutchinson says she was stripped of her title as director of the EP Lab she founded and was replaced with "a white male with significantly less experience and expertise" in late 2004.
Further, the complaint alleges, Northwell Health attempted to "coerce" the cardiologist to take "remedial training and placed limitations on [her] ability to practice the medical specialty for which she was trained."
After refusing to take the remedial training, Dr. Hutchinson said she was prohibited from performing left side of the heart ablations for abnormal heart rhythms including atrial fibrillation at Northwell hospitals.
Prior to 2004, Dr. Hutchinson "routinely" earned an estimated $1 million per year in connection with her arrangement with Northwell Health, which equaled about 10 to 15 percent of her income, according to the complaint.
Since 2004, her compensation has ranged between $100,000 and $200,000 per year — a loss of about $900,000 per year — which the complaint claims is a result of Northwell's "retaliatory action and disparate treatment" against Dr. Hutchinson.
Dr. Hutchinson earned her medical degree from Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in clinical cardiology at New York University Medical Center, Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She also received specialty training in cardiac catheterization and angioplasty. She was a pacemaker fellow at New York City-based Montefiore Hospital and completed a fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.