Physicians sue Tenet, Detroit Medical Center, allege cost-cutting led to patient deaths

Six things to know:

1. Amir Kaki, MD, and Mahir Elder, MD, who were fired from DMC in October for unspecified conduct violations, filed the lawsuit. They allege multiple DMC patients have died in recent years due to cutting costs and physician incompetence, according to the Detroit Free Press.

2. One incident noted in the lawsuit involved a DMC patient who died in early 2018. Administrators had removed a blood-testing lab from a cardiac catheterization unit to cut costs, and the patient died because it took hours to report his high blood potassium levels to the cardiac team, the lawsuit alleges.

3. The lawsuit also alleges a DMC patient suffered complications and bled to death in 2015 after physicians mistreated his pulmonary embolism.

4. Drs. Kaki and Elder claim they were fired for raising concerns about quality of care and patient safety.

5. In a statement issued to the Detroit Free Press, Detroit Medical Center said: “We do not comment on pending litigation. As we’ve said previously, we asked Drs. Elder and Kaki to step down from their administrative leadership roles in the DMC cardiovascular service line in October 2018 due to violations of our standards of conduct. Any suggestion that these leadership transitions were made for reasons other than violations of our standards of conduct is false.”

6. The physicians are seeking reinstatement, back pay and unspecified damages, according to the report.

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