Fired doctor gets chance to seek punitive damages

An appeals court gave a Kansas City doctor another chance to win punitive damages against an employer that tried to classify him as an independent contractor to save on health care costs.

Dr. Stanley Brand alleged that he was fired from Kansas City Gastroenterology and Hematology after refusing to agree to the classification, which would have stripped him of health coverage. Brand had been receiving expensive treatments for a heart condition.

In 2009, a Jackson County jury returned a verdict of $406,072 on a claim of wrongful discharge and a second verdict of $300,000 on a claim that the clinic’s denial of health coverage amounted to negligence.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District this morning threw out the negligence claim because Brand was never actually denied any health coverage. In practical terms, that didn’t reduce the overall award by much, because a judge had already reduced the original $300,000 to less than $25,000.

The appeals court, however, said the judge should have allowed Brand to seek punitive damages on the wrongful discharge claim. The case was remanded for a new trial.

The case is Brand v. Kansas City Gastroenterology et al., WD71061 and WD71078.