Salary data shows the former CMO of Torrance, Calif.-based Harbor-UCLA Medical Center was paid almost $790,000 in 2014, though he was terminated in 2012, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Gail Anderson Jr., MD, was fired in July 2012, but the county did not provide Los Angeles Daily News with a reason for his firing, according to the report.
Before his termination, Dr. Anderson had been on paid administrative leave since August 2011, when he was escorted out of the hospital during an investigation, according to the report. The hospital was being investigated for its physician credential reviewing and background checking process, the report notes, including Dr. Anderson's credentials.
Dr. Anderson has a current and active medical license and had served as CMO for 13 years, according to the report.
Dr. Anderson filed a lawsuit in June 2012 against the county for alleged defamation, libel, slander and intentional infliction of emotional stress for publically escorting him from the hospital, placing him "wrongfully" on administrative leave and allegedly leaking the story to news media, according to Daily Breeze News. In the settlement, he received back pay and briefly was reinstated before he decided to retire, according to the report.
The $787,250 he received in 2014 included salary and benefits from parts of 2012, all of 2013 and half of 2014, and was part of the settlement, according to the report.
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