In addition to nearly $800,000 Los Angeles County paid out last year to a physician it fired, the county spent thousands more fighting a lawsuit filed by the doctor who ultimately won back his position.
Dr. Gail Anderson Jr. was the second-highest-paid employee in Los Angeles County last year because of payouts the county made after a settlement with him.
Earlier this week the county was unable to provide the reason for Anderson’s termination, but according to court documents and county documents released Wednesday, Anderson was fired for misrepresenting to county officials that he was treating patients at Harbor-UCLA even though he didn’t have hospital privileges.
According to the records, Anderson, who was the hospital’s chief medical officer for 12 years, was told in the spring of 2011 that all chief medical officers at county hospitals must begin seeing patients on top of their administrative duties. Anderson told his bosses he had begun to take shifts in the urgent care center that July. When his superiors learned he wasn’t seeing patients, only observing, and that he was not credentialed, they placed him on administrative leave and conducted an investigation into his job performance, records said.
A year later, Anderson was fired for misrepresenting how he spent his time in the urgent care center and other issues, records said.
“On five documented occasions you represented to management you were participating in clinical care, which management concluded based on your representation that you were providing direct patient care,” Department of Health Services Director Dr. Mitchell Katz wrote in Anderson’s discharge notice. “Your lack of leadership, judgment, and candor to management was irresponsible and has created a mistrust that is irreparable … management no longer trusts you or your ability to lead (Harbor-UCLA) as the highest ranking physician.”
Anderson could not be reached for comment.
The physician filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against the county claiming Katz and DHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hal F. Yee Jr. leaked information to the media about his departure from the hospital where he was escorted out, placed on leave and was told he must remain at his home during work hours. He also filed an appeal with the county Civil Service Commission. Last year, Anderson and the county settled both matters, resulting in Anderson getting his job back and almost two years of back pay that was paid out last year — $787,250.91 in salary and benefits — which made him the second-highest-paid employee in the county, according to county salary data. Anderson retired almost immediately after he was reinstated, so he did not return to work at the hospital.
The litigation of Anderson’s defamation lawsuit, which lasted about two years and was transferred to federal court, cost the county thousands of dollars, according to court filings. The amount was not specified, and county officials did not provide information.
Anderson defended his actions in a meeting after he was placed on leave. He said he had not provided patient care at Harbor-UCLA and that he had not communicated to anyone he had provided care or that he had been given privileges.
The county alleged that when Anderson told his managers he had arranged for a shift to be covered in the clinic that implied he was treating patients because if he was just observing, his shift wouldn’t need to be covered.
Anderson said he meant that he needed to inform clinic managers that he wouldn’t be observing patient care.
The notice of discharge outlines a number of other areas where Anderson allegedly failed to meet job expectations.
Katz cites a “lack of leadership, poor judgment, misrepresentations to executive management and blatant disregard for DHS and county policy” as reasons for Anderson’s dismissal. Katz said Anderson’s misrepresentations were the same as lying.
The discharge letter notes that Anderson received “exceeded expectations” and “very good” overall ratings during his last three performance evaluations before he was fired.
Anderson earned his medical degree from the USC Keck School of Medicine in 1977, according to the Medical Board of California. He has never been subject to disciplinary action by the state licensing agency, records show.
