Dennis Burke, MD, a former orthopedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, will receive a $13 million settlement following his wrongful termination lawsuit, The Boston Globe reports.
Dr. Burke practiced at MGH for 35 years before he was terminated in 2015. He alleges the hospital terminated him because he challenged its policy on concurrent surgeries, which permits surgeons to operate in two rooms simultaneously. MGH maintained he was terminated for violating patient privacy by releasing medical records of procedures he performed to The Boston Globe with names redacted.
In the settlement, MGH also offered Dr. Burke his job back and will honor him by naming a hospital safety program after him.
President and CEO of Partners HealthCare, which operates MGH, credited Dr. Burke for calling attention to the safety issue.
Dr. Burke now practices at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston and will not return to MGH, according to The Boston Globe.
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