Sadeghi v. Sharp Mem'l Med. Ctr. Chula Vista
| Decision Date | 23 October 2013 |
| Docket Number | D060429 |
| Citation | 164 Cal.Rptr.3d 420,221 Cal.App.4th 598 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | H. Mehrdad SADEGHI, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SHARP MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER CHULA VISTA, Defendant and Respondent. |
H. Mehrdad Sadeghi, in pro. per.; Andrews & Hensleigh, Barbara Hensleigh and Joseph Andrews, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, Richard D. Barton, San Diego, and Jaime D. Quient, for Defendant and Respondent.
Dr. H. Mehrdad Sadeghi's medical staff privileges were summarily suspended by the medical staff of Sharp Memorial Medical Center Chula Vista (SCV). Dr. Sadeghi appeals from the superior court order denying his petition for writ of administrative mandate to compel SCV to void its decision upholding the suspension. We affirm.
This matter arises from a failed surgical procedure by Dr. Sadeghi in 2007. After the procedure, SCV launched an investigation that raised serious concerns about Dr. Sadeghi's mental health and potential violations of the standard of care. As a result, Dr. Sadeghi's medical privileges were suspended by the hospital's medical executive committee (MEC), the peer review body responsible for administering physician privileges. Following this initial suspension, Dr. Sadeghi's privileges were reinstated, but they were again revoked when he failed to comply with conditions imposed by the MEC. Dr. Sadeghi invoked his right under the hospital's bylaws to a formal judicial review hearing of the MEC's actions. More than one year into that proceeding, Dr. Sadeghi suspended the hearing to pursue an informal resolution. When that attempt failed, the hearing resumed and the review panel ultimately upheld the MEC's actions. Dr. Sadeghi challenged the panel's determination in superior court and this appeal followed.
Dr. Sadeghi is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology. In 2003, SCV granted Dr. Sadeghi privileges in internal medicine, interventional cardiology, and peripheral interventional procedures. His practice focused on interventional cardiology, a subspecialty of cardiology focused on diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease with catheter-based therapy. Dr. Sadeghi's practice also included catheter-based therapy in the kidneys and legs, a field traditionally occupied by interventional radiologists and that was not performed at SCV until Dr. Sadeghi's arrival. In 2005 Dr. Sadeghi was appointed director of SCV's cardiac catheterization laboratory, or "cath lab." The cath lab consists of two suites dedicated to catheter-based interventional procedures staffed by nurses and technicians trained in those therapies.
Around the time he was appointed director of the cath lab, Dr. Sadeghi and his partner, Dr. Mehran Moussavian, secured a contract that dramatically increased their business. Shortly after, Dr. Moussavian suffered a personal loss, which further increased Dr. Sadeghi's workload. In late 2006, members of the cath lab staff noticed changes in Dr. Sadeghi's behavior and expressed concern about the length of time Dr. Sadeghi was taking to perform procedures.
On February 22, 2007, Dr. Sadeghi began a procedure to attempt to save the leg of an 81–year–old patient who had refused amputation and was in unremitting pain from poor circulation. In addition to circulatory disease, the patient suffered from numerous other life threatening illnesses. The patient and the patient's family were counseled by Dr. Sadeghi, Dr. Moussavian, and internist Dr. Martha Lozano, about the poor chances of the procedure's success, but the patient was steadfastly opposed to losing a leg and becoming a burden to the family. Although initially scheduled to begin earlier, the procedure did not begin until 8:30 p.m. because of an unrelated problem with Dr. Sadeghi's medical record requirements. The procedure was extraordinarily long and marked by numerous complications.
As the surgery progressed past midnight and into the following day, the cath lab staff became increasingly concerned about Dr. Sadeghi's behavior, particularly his unwillingness to end the procedure and the patient's evident discomfort. On the morning of the second day of the procedure, the cath lab supervisor on duty contacted the lab manager, who was on vacation at the time, and also contacted hospital administration, including SCV's CEO Chris Boyd. Throughout the morning, Boyd and other members of the administration came into the lab to address the situation. Dr. Moussavian was also called to assist. The operation lasted 18 hours, not ending until the afternoon of the second day. The patient passed away a few days later.2
As a result of the procedure, SCV's chief of staff, Dr. Seung-Yil T. Song, initiated an investigation. Dr. Song requested a review of the case by the hospital's endovascular-medicine chair, Dr. Walter Olsen, and interviews of the involved staff. Interviews of three staff members were conducted on February 27, 2007 by the hospital's cardiology director, Dr. Daniel Cepin, as well as a human resources representative and a member of the hospital's quality council. The three interviewees painted a picture of erratic and irrational behavior by Dr. Sadeghi. They described him criticizing other physicians and members of the staff and expressing his belief that they were out to get him. A lab technician described another patient, who had been scheduled for a procedure that day, being brought to the cath lab at Dr. Sadeghi's request near midnight, and Dr. Sadeghi asking the technician to film the patient talking about the long hours Dr. Sadeghi was working.
On the evening of February 27, 2007, an informal meeting was arranged with Drs. Sadeghi, Song, Cepin, Lozano, Moussavian and Dr. Errol Korn, the hospital's chair of internal medicine, to discuss the procedure. The other doctors urged Dr. Sadeghi to take time off to rest, but he responded that was not possible. Directly after the meeting with Dr. Sadeghi, the MEC met to discuss the incident. After reports from Dr. Cepin on the three staff interviews and Dr. Korn on the meeting with Dr. Sadeghi, the MEC voted to summarily suspend Dr. Sadeghi's privileges.
Dr. Sadeghi was notified of the suspension the following day in a hand-delivered letter. The letter stated the hospital's medical staff had begun an investigation as a result of the February 22, 2007 procedure. The letter explained the MEC had significant concerns as a result of the investigation and that the summary suspension was necessary to protect the hospital's patients from what it viewed as imminent danger. The letter instructed Dr. Sadeghi to contact the hospital's well-being committee immediately for evaluation and notified him of his right under the hospital's bylaws to request an informal hearing with the MEC within seven days.
Dr. Sadeghi invoked this right and appeared before the MEC at its March 6, 2007 meeting. At the meeting, Dr. Sadeghi apologized for his behavior during the February 22, 2007 procedure. He admitted he exercised less than optimal judgment with the staff and took full responsibility for the patient's outcome. He also discussed the personal and professional stressors in his life, including Dr. Moussavian's absence from their practice, family pressure, and an unhealthy work environment, he believed were contributing factors to the incident. Dr. Sadeghi also stated he would never again become too close to a family in a way that clouded his medical judgment and said he would resign from the practice of medicine if he were ever involved in a similar incident.
Dr. Sadeghi also reported he met with the well-being committee as directed and had complied with that committee's request for a psychiatric evaluation. He stated the psychiatrist told him there was no need for a followup appointment. A member of the MEC reported that Dr. Sadeghi had been cleared by the well-being committee, but the committee was not available to make a report that day. The MEC voted to terminate the summary suspension. Some members expressed concern that the determination to lift the suspension was premature, but the MEC rejected a motion to table the decision until more information became available, including a report from the well-being committee.
On March 9, 2007, the MEC reconvened to follow up on the termination of Dr. Sadeghi's suspension. After discussion, the MEC voted to validate its decision to terminate the summary suspension, but added a condition that Dr. Sadeghi be required to undergo a second evaluation by the psychiatrist with a written report submitted to the well-being committee and the MEC. Counsel for SCV, Richard Barton, was present to advise the MEC on Dr. Sadeghi's case. He informed the MEC that an outside review of the February 22, 2007 incident was also being undertaken and experts were being contacted to evaluate the matter.3 Dr. Sadeghi was advised of the new condition to the termination of his suspension in a hand-delivered letter from Dr. Song that day. On April 2, 2007, Dr. Song delivered a second letter reminding Dr. Sadeghi of the requirement he undergo another psychiatric evaluation.
On April 30, 2007, Dr. Sadeghi wrote to Dr. Korn concerning the second psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Sadeghi explained he had seen the psychiatrist a second time before the MEC's March 9, 2007 meeting and, based on his conversations with the members of the well-being committee, believed this second visit satisfied the condition on the termination of his suspension. Dr. Sadeghi stated that after he received Dr. Song's April 2, 2007 letter, he spoke with the well-being committee which confirmed no further action on his part was necessary. Dr. Sadeghi also outlined a number of concerns he had about the manner in which the investigation was being conducted, including that key witnesses involved in the February 22, 2007 procedure were not interviewed, the failure of a...
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