Winger v. Meade Dist. Hosp. — May 2016 (Summary)

Employment Termination – Liberty Interest vs. Property Interest

Winger v. Meade Dist. Hosp.
No. 15-3075 (10th Cir. May 12, 2016)

The Tenth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals found that a physician who’s employment had been terminated by a hospital did have a valid liberty interest claim, but not a property interest claim. The physician sued the hospital, claiming he was fired without due process and that the hospital infringed upon his liberty interest in his professional reputation by reporting his termination to the state board.

According to the physician’s contract, he was hired for an initial term of one year and could be terminated without cause on 60 days’ notice or immediately for “good cause.” Not long after he started, the hospital’s risk management committee conducted an investigation after receiving complaints about the physician. Based upon the findings of the investigation, the hospital revoked the physician’s temporary privileges for failing to practice within the expected standard of care. The hospital’s bylaws provided that temporary privileges could be terminated at any time without a right to appeal. The physician’s contract was then terminated “with cause” for failing to meet the “standards of care required of physicians in the community.” Reports were filed with the state board, which reported the termination to the National Practitioner Data Bank.

While a district court granted summary judgment to the hospital, the circuit court reversed the lower court’s findings, finding that under Kansas law, the physician had a property interest in his continued employment because his contract provided that he could only be terminated immediately if there was “good cause” and that it was a question for the jury as to whether he had received adequate due process. However, the circuit court did affirm the district court’s finding of summary judgment for the hospital with regard to the physician’s liberty interest claim, holding that the hospital was required to report the termination of the physician’s clinical privileges by statute.