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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Sleepy Anesthesiologist Loses Defamation Claim

NEW YORK (CN) - An anesthesiology resident who fell asleep during surgery lost his claim that a medical college defamed him by mentioning the incident in evaluations sent to the American Board of Anesthesiologists.

Initially, the New York Health and Hospitals Corp. filed disciplinary charges against Kanagaraj Pandian, but later agreed to drop the charges and provide a "neutral" job reference for the anesthesiologist.

Pandian claimed the subsequent board evaluation defamed him and violated their oral contract.

A New York appellate division disagreed. The board was required to provide accurate evaluations, Judge McKeon wrote, "in order to ensure the competency of anesthesiologists."

"The defamation claim failed to demonstrate a triable issue of fact as to whether defendants were motivated by actual malice in making the negative statements in plaintiff's evaluations," the court concluded.

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