News Summary
Dr. Mark Linskey, a neurosurgeon at UC Irvine, has been awarded $5.8 million by a jury in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the university. The case centered around claims of retaliation for raising concerns about patient safety and abuse of power. This verdict follows a previous $2 million award in 2019 related to similar issues. Linskey’s ongoing legal battle highlights serious allegations concerning the mistreatment of faculty and patient care monopolization at the university.
Orange County, CA – A jury has awarded Dr. Mark Linskey, a neurosurgeon at UC Irvine, $5.8 million in damages in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the university. The jury’s unanimous verdict, reached on May 9, 2023, was in response to Linskey’s claims that university officials retaliated against him for raising concerns about patient safety, abuse of power, and economic waste.
Dr. Linskey, who is board-certified and served as chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, initiated legal action against the university in 2016 due to conflicts with former Dean of the School of Medicine, Ralph Clayman, and former department chair, Johnny Delashaw. These disputes found their roots in grievances he filed as early as 2013, accusing Delashaw and Dr. Frank Hsu of monopolizing patient care by reserving certain patients for themselves, thus sidelining other physicians.
In the recent litigation, the jury ruled in favor of Linskey concerning the retaliatory actions that transpired from November 2015 to the present. The current ruling follows an earlier $2 million award he received in 2019 due to an initial phase of these disputes, which considered actions taken prior to a university investigation.
The ongoing retaliation against Linskey intensified after Delashaw’s arrival at UC Irvine in 2013, leading to a series of inappropriate actions aimed at undermining his career. Linskey was reassigned from his department, which prevented him from mentoring new neurosurgeons and negatively impacted the residency program he had established. After a series of events, and intensifying retaliatory efforts, he filed a whistleblower complaint through the UC system in 2014.
The UC Irvine Academic Senate later found that Linskey’s removal appeared to be retaliatory. Although he eventually returned to his role, he faced significant restrictions, including a denial of access to resident physicians, which forced him to work excessive hours—up to 80-100 per week—without respite. This unmanageable workload limited his opportunities to contribute to vital research that could have advanced the field of neurosurgery and benefited patient care.
In 2016, Linskey asserted his rights through a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, resulting in the earlier award for emotional distress and loss of income. A judge mandated his reinstatement in the residency program and a return to the neurosurgery on-call schedule; however, these directives were not implemented by university officials.
This most recent trial, which was considered the second phase of Linskey’s litigation, aimed to enforce the previous orders and address continued retaliation accusations post-2015. The jury found in favor of Linskey on the reinstatement issue and awarded damages of $5,880,458 to cover past and future economic losses, alongside suffering from anxiety and emotional distress.
Concurrently, another complaint during the trial raised concerns about ongoing separation from resident physicians. Linskey alleged that administrators pressured young doctors into voicing complaints against him.
Dr. Delashaw’s tenure at UC Irvine was brief, having left by September 2013, while Dean Clayman resigned in 2014. Dr. Hsu, who was brought in by Delashaw, currently serves as the chair of Neurological Surgery and faced scrutiny for misusing school funds in a 2022 investigation.
Reflecting on his nearly decade-long legal struggle, Linskey acknowledged that advocating for justice and what he deemed right was ultimately worth the effort, highlighting the significant impacts of his allegations along with the consequences faced by those in positions of authority.
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Additional Resources
- Los Angeles Times: UC Irvine Neurosurgeon Wins $5.8M in Retaliation Case
- Wikipedia: Whistleblower
- OC Register: Jury Orders UCI to Pay $5.8 Million
- Google Search: Whistleblower Lawsuits
- OC Register: Another OC COVID Contractor Accused of Fraud
- Google Scholar: Whistleblower Retaliation
- Los Angeles Times: UCI Medical Lawsuit
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Whistleblower
- CBS News: Whistleblowers Expose Back Surgery Scam
