Two pediatricians accused of sending unsolicited text messages to Cleveland-based University Hospitals physicians — and later fired by the system — have filed a lawsuit over their termination.
Lauren Beene, MD, and Valerie Fouts-Fowler, DO, filed the lawsuit Dec. 15 in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. A news release shared with Becker’s from a public relations firm representing the physicians outlined the allegations.
The pediatricians say they were unjustly fired in June after raising concerns about patient care within the health system. They allege University Hospitals violated their contracts and Ohio law and later defamed them in statements about their termination.
A University Hospitals spokesperson told Becker’s the health system does not comment on pending litigation and referred to its previous statements on the matter.
In a statement from July, the health system said the pediatricians were terminated after an investigation determined they accessed the personal data of 4,000 colleagues through a care coordination app and sent them unsolicited text messages unrelated to patient care.
Dr. Beene and Dr. Fouts-Fowler contend they were fired in response to complaints raised to hospital administrators about issues such as emergency department staffing and delays in blood test processing for pediatric patients. They say the app in question — commonly used as a staff directory — had also been used by other physicians for non-care-related communications without resulting in disciplinary action.
The lawsuit also alleges that following their termination, University Hospitals made “defamatory” statements falsely accusing the physicians of data theft, privacy violations and compromising patient care, leading to reputational harm.
In its July statement, UH said the firings followed complaints from physicians about the messages.
Dr. Beene and Dr. Fouts-Fowler are seeking reinstatement, release from noncompete and non-solicitation contract clauses, and damages.
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