Re: 2/13/02 - AP: Doctor Gets $4.2M in Defamation Suit
Doctor Gets $4.2M in Defamation Suit
Wed Feb 13, 4:13 AM ET
By GREG SUKIENNIK, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON (AP) - A doctor who said she was libeled by a story about the death of a Boston Globe health columnist has won a $4.2 million judgment against the newspaper, a former reporter, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a former administrator.
Tuesday's jury finding came in a libel and defamation lawsuit filed by Dr. Lois Ayash, who claimed she had been scapegoated for the death of Betsy Lehman, who died of an overdose of experimental cancer drugs.
Ayash alleged she was libeled by a 1995 Globe story that said she had countersigned an erroneous medical order that resulted in Lehman's death. The article described her as "leader of the team" of doctors at Dana-Farber responsible for Lehman's care.
The Globe published a correction saying Ayash had not countersigned the order, but it stood by its claim that she was the head of the treatment team that was using the experimental chemotherapy regimen.
A judge last year issued a default judgment in favor of Ayash after the Globe and reporter Richard Knox refused to reveal confidential sources. So the only question for the jury with regard to the Globe and the reporter was how much they would have to pay in damages.
The Circuit Court jury, after deliberating into a third day, agreed with most of Ayash's claims and assessed penalties against all four defendants, who also included Dana-Farber's former chief of staff, David M. Livingston.
Globe Publisher Richard H. Gilman and Knox, who now works for National Public Radio, remain steadfast in their refusal to identify the sources and said they plan to appeal.
"The protection of sources is a cornerstone of our ability to report news and, as we have in the past, we will continue to defend that privilege," Gilman said.
Dana-Farber spokesman Steven R. Singer said the institute disagrees with the jury's decision and will review its legal options.
Ayash and her lawyer, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Ayash designed and ran the experimental breast cancer treatment in which Lehman and another female patient were enrolled. Another doctor accidentally ordered the overdoses, which were not discovered for 10 weeks.
Following an investigation, the hospital reprimanded Ayash for not finding the overdoses sooner. A year later, she was laid off.
For the emotional distress, the jurors ordered the Globe to pay $1.4 million to Ayash, who now works at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, and Dana-Farber to pay more than $1 million.
Jurors said Knox owed Ayash $360,000 for emotional distress and $60,000 in lost wages and injury to her reputation. The Globe also was ordered to pay $240,000 for lost pay and damaged reputation, while Dana-Farber was ordered to pay $180,000.
Separately, the jury ordered Livingston to pay $720,000 for emotional distress and $120,000 for lost pay and injury to her reputation.
In punitive damages, the jury ordered $5,000 to be paid by Dana-Farber.
The jury did not agree with Ayash's allegation that the hospital and Livingston defamed her by suggesting that she covered up the overdoses.
The jurors did find, however, that Dana-Farber breached her contract, violated her privacy and retaliated against her after she sued. It also found Livingston intentionally interfered with Ayash's job at Dana-Farber.
Lehman's husband, Robert Distel, sued the hospital and several doctors, nurses, and pharmacists for malpractice, and won a $2.4 million settlement in 1995. He did not immediately return a call for comment.
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