Zia Diagnostic Imaging, an Albuquerque-based radiology group, sued Albuquerque-based Lovelace Health System on Oct. 15, alleging the health system breached their exclusive contract by hiring away its interventional radiologists and failed to address disruptions from a 2023 cyberattack, according to the Albuquerque Journal and court records. The breach of contract suit was filed in Bernalillo County district court.
Zia signed a five-year contract with Lovelace in 2020 designating it the exclusive radiology services provider at Lovelace’s five Albuquerque hospitals, the suit says. In 2022, Lovelace offered jobs to Zia’s interventional radiologists, who left in October 2023 and began performing non-interventional diagnostic services as Lovelace employees, which Zia alleges violated the exclusivity clause. Zia’s managing partner said the departures led other radiologists to resign, and the six who remained left New Mexico after Zia terminated the agreement effective spring 2024. Zia no longer offers radiology services.
The suit also accuses Lovelace of failing to mitigate the effects of the November 2023 cyberattack on its parent company, Brentwood, Tenn.-based Ardent Health. The resulting system outages lasted months and violated contract clauses requiring Lovelace to provide adequate equipment and services, according to the complaint. It alleges radiologists had to hand-write reports and fax, call or walk them to clinical sites, that patients were sent to scanners without identification bracelets or room numbers, leading to mislabeled images, and that “hundreds or perhaps thousands” of imaging studies were not provided to Zia radiologists for days, weeks or months.
Zia’s lawyer said the group sought a settlement of several million dollars and Lovelace declined mediation, according to the Albuquerque Journal. If Zia wins, it plans to seek about $5 million to $7 million in damages. A Lovelace spokesperson declined to comment to the Albuquerque Journal, citing a policy against commenting on pending legal matters.
The November 2023 ransomware attack hit 30 Ardent hospitals in six states, including Lovelace, and left patients struggling to refill prescriptions as the Albuquerque system recovered.
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