Work continues on suit against Providence St. Mary Medical Center
By Terry Murry on Monday, April 17th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SPOKANE – Spokane Attorney William A. Gilbert continues to work on the class action suit against Providence St. Mary Medical Center and former spine surgeons Jason Dreyer and Daniel Elskens.
Gilbert said a new judge has been assigned the case – James Robart – and he has stated he would deal only with jurisdictional questions right now. That means he will first decide if the case should stay in federal court or if it should be returned to King County Superior Court where it was initially filed before he makes any other rulings.
Second, Gilbert said Judge Robart ordered Providence to provide a list of names with contact information of all patients who fit Gilbert’s law firm’s proposed classes of plaintiffs. Gilbert explained this was done so that the number of claimants can be determined, as well as the residency and citizenship of those claimants, which are questions to answer in deciding whether federal or state jurisdiction controls.
The judge ordered the hospital to provide Gilbert’s office with those lists by April 30, however Gilbert said Providence is challenging that order.
Providence placed the two surgeons on leave after questions arose about their practice. Providence said they both left the hospital in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Last year, Providence agreed to pay a joint settlement of $22.7 million to resolve liability from medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures provided at the hospital in Walla Walla. The joint settlement was between Providence, the United States, and the state of Washington.
