Alliance for Patient Safety

                            All that is necessary for the triumph of evil...
                                                                ... is for good men to do nothing.

                                                                                                   Edmund Burke

Retaliation Against Physicians - Zora S. Gill, MD

Issue: This case dealt with issues surrounding inappropriate peer review protocols. The Court of Appeal, Fifth Dist., found for the hospital, noting that the hospital provided the physician plaintiff in both cases with a fair peer review forum. On April 28, 1988, CMA filed brief in the California Supreme Court, asking the court to either decertify the opinion in this case or grant a hearing and rule that for a “fair hearing”, all evidence against a physician must be made available to him or her, the physician must have legal counsel, the medical staff has the burden of proving the charges, and a prosecution witness cannot consult with the judicial review committee after the hearing.

Outcome: The request to decertify Gill was denied. The appellate decision for Gill can be found at Gill v. Mercy Hosp. (1988) 199 Cal.App.3d 889, 245 Cal.Rptr. 304.