Madison, Wis.-based SSM Health Dean Medical Group sued two orthopedic surgeons who resigned with plans to begin their own practice, The Chippewa Herald reported Dec. 1.
SSM Dean Health was planning an outpatient orthopedic ASC when Jason Sansone, MD, and Brian Keyes, DO, encouraged colleagues to join them to form a competing practice, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 30 in Dane County Circuit Court.
Dr. Sansone and the surgeons plan to partner with Phoenix-based Healthcare Outcomes Performance Company for their practice.
SSM Health's lawsuit said Dr. Sansone and Dr. Keyes violated their employee agreement by planning their own practice during work and "induced and encouraged" other surgeons to breach their contracts. Dr. Sansone also allegedly violated an agreement saying he can't be a medical executive for a year after leaving within a 45-mile radius of Madison, since he said he is CEO of the new orthopedic practice, the lawsuit said.
The independent practice, which the lawsuit calls Madison Orthopedics, is also named in SSM Health's lawsuit. SSM Health is seeking damages and the return of malpractice insurance payments that the health system provided for Dr. Sansone and Dr. Keyes.
Dr. Sansone didn't respond to The Chippewa Herald's requests for comments.