Founding Partner Cate Edwards Quoted in Article Regarding Edwards Beightol Lawsuit on Behalf of Erroneously Reported Doctor

Founding Partner Cate Edwards was quoted in Asheville Citizen Times Article ‘Blackballed’ Mission Hospital doctor sues former employer because he can’t find work. The article details a lawsuit filed by Founding Partners Cate Edwards and Kristen L. Beightol of Edwards Beightol, LLC, on behalf of David John Hetzel, MD, against ANC Healthcare, Inc., ANC Mission Hospital, Inc., HCA Management Services, L.P., MH Master Holdings, LLLP, MH Hospital Manager LLC, MH Mission Hospital, LLLP; and HCA Healthcare Mission Fund, LLC. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Asheville Division, alleges that these defendants erroneously reported Dr. Hetzel, a board-certified gynecologic oncologist with decades of experience, to the National Practitioner’s Databank, a national database operated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that serves as a repository of information regarding medical malpractice payments and adverse actions against health care providers, and that, as a result, Dr. Hetzel’s reputation has been improperly and irreversably marred, including that he has been unable to obtain employment, secure licensure in another state and, most importantly, use his medical skill to render critical, often life-saving, care to cancer patients. Claims of libel per se, libel, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages are pled. Cate is quoted as stating: “Mission well knows, as does every hospital, that have a report at the National Practitioners Databank is a black mark on your record. It makes you difficult to employ. It makes it very difficult to do the work that Dr. Hetzel trained to do, devoted his life to, and is lifesaving care for many women.” The full article is available by subscription at https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2023/06/26/blackballed-mission-hospital-doctor-denied-jobs-new-lawsuit-says/70356203007/.