ANN ARBOR (WWJ) — A former University of Michigan doctor is suing the school, claiming he unfairly lost his job after being wrongfully accused of assault and battery.
The lawsuit, filed by Nacht Law on behalf of “esteemed transplant surgeon” Dr. Kenneth Woodside, claims the assault allegations were brought by an employee of the U-M dialysis procedure unit because he had spoken out about patient safety issues at the center.
While the lawsuit does not specify the exact patient safety issues, it says Woodside brought his concerns to U-M Health officials in the fall of 2019, including Chief of Staff Marie Luzon, Dr. Justin Dimick and Dr. Christopher Sonnenday.
In late December 2019, according to the lawsuit, Woodside was “wrongfully accused of assault and battery by Debra LaMirand, a fellow employee of the University of Michigan Hospital working in the same dialysis unit, based on events which she alleges occurred on December 27, 2019, at the University of Michigan Hospital.”
In early January 2020, LaMirand filed a report with the University’s Office of Institutional Equity, “based on her false allegations against Dr. Woodside,” the lawsuit says. In April of that year, following an investigation that included interviews with witnesses, the OIE found that the “evidence does not support the conclusion by a preponderance of the evidence that [Dr. Woodside] engaged in conduct that constitutes a violation of the Sexual Harassment Policy,” according to the lawsuit.
As criminal charges were brought against Woodside, the lawsuit says he received assurances from Dimick and an UM Executive Vice Dean Brian Zink that he “would still have a job after the criminal proceedings, no matter the outcome,” because they knew of the whistleblower situation at the dialysis unit, the lawsuit says.
In December 2021 a jury trial led to a conviction of assault and battery, with a sentence of probation only, from which he was excused early, per the lawsuit. The conviction remains under appeal.
In early January 2022 Woodside received a letter notifying him that his appointment with the University of Michigan Hospital would not be renewed in September and that he was being placed on administrative leave immediately and wouldn’t be allowed to perform clinical, research, and teaching activities.
The lawsuit says the school “made this decision (1) despite its own findings that there was insufficient evidence to support a conclusion that Dr. Woodside had violated the University’s sexual harassment policy, (2) without engaging in any adequate process, and (3) as a direct result of its own discrimination against Dr. Woodside based on his gender.”
The lawsuit goes onto claim that Dimick and Sonnenday “inserted themselves and further harmed” Woodside’s career by making threatening comments, bullying in the workplace, attacking his character for being “unmanly,” and interfering in the process of seeking a new job at other hospitals.
In total, there are eight counts in the lawsuit, including violation of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, sex discrimination in violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, tortious interference with contract and prospective economic advantage.
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