Lawsuit accuses UVA Health leaders of operating a criminal enterprise
Four UVA doctors and two widows take aim at former UVA Health leadership
Oddly enough, the best local reporting so far on this lawsuit announcement comes from this Houston Chronicle story about former UVA medical school dean Dr. Melina Kibbe, who took over as president of UTHealth Houston just last month. Kibbe was among the former UVA medical school leaders named in a page-turner of a lawsuit filed last week in a Virginia federal court by four former UVA doctors and the families of two people who died after being treated at UVA.
“This case arises out of a hostile takeover of a revered medical system,” the complaint begins, “ by a cadre of individuals determined to maximize revenues and rankings, thereby inflating their own career prospects and financial gain, through concerted, repeated, and consistent illegal acts.”
Unfortunately, Daily Progress reporter Emily Hemphill, who covered the UVA Health scandal extensively over the last year, recently moved on. You can find her stories archived here.
Former UVA Health System CEO Craig Kent, once the highest paid higher education executive in Virginia (he made over $1 million a year), resigned last year following a months long investigation and a letter of no confidence from more than 100 UVa physicians and faculty members, who accused him “egregious acts” and creating a “culture of fear and retaliation.”
Referring to the former UVA Health leaders named in the lawsuit as the “Kent Enterprise,” the lawsuit accuses them of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), historically used to combat organized crime, and provides evidence of fraudulent billing practices, falsifying medical records, retaliation, and negligent hiring practices. It even accuses Kent of prioritizing available COVID vaccines early in the pandemic for his family members and the UVA football team over UVA staff treating patients during the time.
“It’s very clear to us, after a yearlong investigation, that Craig Kent, Dean Kibbe and others deliberately set out to organize a group that was responsible for deploying a strategy that included illegal acts and really caused massive harm to patients,” Gladstone Jones, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told the Houston Chronicle.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Kibbe released a statement on Friday saying that it was “unfortunate that these unfounded and baseless allegations continue to be brought forth.”
“I am eager for the truth to prevail through the judicial system, as there is no legal basis for this lawsuit,” Kibbe added.
However, Les Bowers, an attorney also representing the plaintiffs, told the Houstan Chronicle that Kibbe was “specifically involved in forcing the hire of two … incompetent and dangerous surgeons, and an administrator.”
Bowers also said that other lawsuits will follow.
“We have other doctors with viable claims, and the patients are going to be filing additional claims and free-standing actions soon,” Bowers said.