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| Volume 51, Number 2, Spring 2002 |
CANCER PHYSICIAN WINS COURT CASE AGAINST THE GLOBEby Alice Dembner A Suffolk County jury has awarded Dr. Lois Ayash $4.2 million for
lost wages and emotional distress for the way she was treated by the
Boston Globe and
the Jurors found that the hospital violated Ayash's right to privacy
by disclosing details of its investigation into the 1994 overdoses
that killed former Globe health In the case against the Globe, a judge had already upheld
Ayash's charge that the newspaper libeled her in its coverage of the
overdoses and that its reporter Rather than a verdict on the merits of Ayash's claim, that ruling was issued as a punishment for the Globe's refusal to reveal confidential sources. The jury said the Globe must also pay Ayash $2.1 million. Including interest from the 1996 date the suit was filed, the award
from the hospital and the Globe totals more than $7 million.
The $4.2 million judgment is "For [Ayash] to be vindicated in this fashion is extremely important," said Joan Lukey, Ayash's lead attorney, who had suggested a slightly higher award in closing arguments. "She is anxious to get back to her colleagues and her work in Michigan." After the verdict was announced, Ayash fought off tears and hugged her attorneys. She declined to comment. Both the hospital and the Globe are expected to appeal the verdict. "The real victims of the tragic overdoses were the patients involved and their loved ones," said Dana-Farber spokesman Steven Singer. "The institute's actions in 1995 and 1996 were taken to help ensure patient safety. We disagree with the jury's decision in this case and will review our legal options." Globe publisher Richard H. Gilman said in a statement that the verdict unfairly punished the Globe for protecting confidential sources. "The Globe was denied the opportunity to present its
case by an earlier judge who chose to punish us for our refusal to
disclose confidential sources. The protection of sources is a cornerstone
of our ability to report the news and, as we have in the past, we
will continue to defend the privilege."
Ayash's case stems from overdoses that killed Lehman and severely
injured Maureen Bateman in late 1994. Ayash designed and ran the experimental
breast cancer treatment in which the women were enrolled. Another
doctor accidentally ordered the overdoses, She took a job at the University of Michigan Medical Center, but alleged in her lawsuit that over her lifetime, she would lose about $1 million in wages because the new job does not provide her with as great an opportunity for promotions. Attorneys for Dana-Farber argued in court that she turned down several jobs at Dana-Farber and an offer at Columbia University. The jury awarded her $600,000 in lost wages and "injury to her business reputation" from the hospital and the Globe combined. They also awarded $3.6 million in emotional damages. Ayash had testified that she was repeatedly devastated by the actions of both the hospital and the Globe. She also said her relocation to Michigan painfully separated her from a close-knit family and friends. However, Ayash's own therapist testified that Ayash was troubled by the events but not depressed. In her suit, Ayash alleged the hospital and its former physician-in-chief, David Livingston, made her a public scapegoat for the overdoses and defamed her by suggesting she might have attempted to cover them up. She also alleged she was treated more harshly than the male doctors who were on duty when the overdose was given. After hearing from nearly 30 witnesses during 20 days of testimony, reviewing 163 documents, and deliberating for 2 1/2 days, the jury rejected those claims. However, the jurors found that the hospital did violate her privacy. They found that the hospital didn't meet its contractual obligation to treat her fairly in its investigation and hospital officials laid her off in retaliation for her suit. Jurors also found that Livingston intentionally interfered with her ability to continue working at the hospital-an allegation that grew out of his failed attempt to seek tougher discipline against her. Of the total award against Dana-Farber, jurors apportioned $840,000 to Livingston, who still teaches and does research at the hospital. Ayash alleged that the Globe libeled her by writing that she
had approved the overdoses and that she was "leader of the team"
that oversaw the women's treatment. She also said reporter Richard
Knox had caused her emotional distress and interfered with her job
at the hospital. And she argued that the Globe had defamed
her in an editorial and a column about the overdoses. Ayash had sought the identity of Knox's sources, arguing that she
needed them to prove that the hospital had deliberately leaked information
about her to the Globe. The Globe refused. Because of
the earlier ruling of liability, the Globe was limited in the
trial to arguing that its actions did not cause her any financial "Going into this trial, we had one hand tied behind our back,"
said Knox, who now works for National Public Radio. "We
couldn't give them our side of the The jury found that Knox owes Ayash $420,000 in damages. The Globe's appeal is expected to center on the fact that jurors were never told of the reason for the judgment against the newspaper and that the Globe was never allowed to defend against the charges. # "Doctor Awarded $4M From Globe, Cancer Institute," Feb. 13, 2002, Boston Globe. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company Alice Dembner is a staff writer for the Boston Globe. |