Radiologist awarded $238,000 in wrongful termination case stemming from Christmas party incident
A judge has awarded senior radiologist Dr. Kevin Daynes nearly $238,000 (USD) in a case claiming he was wrongfully terminated after a Christmas party incident.
Private equity-backed I-Med Radiology Network—which recently made its first acquisition in the U.S.—fired the now-72-year-old in May 2022. The decision came after a female technologist claimed Daynes made a “pelvic thrust” at her during the office holiday gathering, Australian outlet News.com.au reported Sunday.
In a separate incident, a radiographer also had alleged that the breast imaging specialist bullied her on the job. Incidents included Daynes storming out of a room when the radiographer entered or handing out sticky notes pointing out her mistakes.
The radiologist later filed suit, seeking over $2.9 million in damages for his termination, claiming he could have worked until 77. Judge Richard Cavanagh, with the country’s Supreme Court, sided with the physician while opting not to grant the sizable payout.
“There is really no explanation as to why the plaintiff would have done what he is alleged to have done,” Cavanagh said of the Christmas party incident, according to the news outlet. “There is no suggestion that the plaintiff had consumed excess alcohol. There is no suggestion that the conversation between anyone in the group was of a sexual nature. The allegation of sexual harassment is not made out.”
Cavanagh determined that the claims didn’t amount to “serious misconduct,” with the termination unwarranted. Daynes was on a fixed-term contract at the time of his firing that would have ended in three months. The judge ordered I-MED to pay six months of salary to fulfill terms of the contract, including a buyout if he did not finish it.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.