At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, our seasoned team of professionals have over 100 years of combined legal experience handling complex legal matters.
GBW $2 Million Verdict Against UC Regents for Whistleblower Retaliation
SANTA ANA, Calf. (April 23, 2019)— An Orange County jury found The UC Regents and the former Dean of the School of Medicine responsible for violating whistleblower protection laws against a neurosurgeon who filed a grievance through the UC Irvine Academic Senate against his supervisors which involved concerns over abuse of power, economic waste, violations of UC policy and patient safety and quality of patient care. On Monday, the plaintiff Mark Linskey, M.D., a tenured full professor at the UC Irvine School of Medicine and the former Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, obtained a $2 million judgment for damages.
The lawsuit involved the former Dean, Ralph Clayman, M.D. and the former Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery who together, pushed to have Dr. Linskey moved out from his home department of Neurosurgery and switched to the Department of General Surgery.
Evidence at trial exposed how the school’s Neurosurgery Department was more concerned with increasing the volume of patients instead of quality of care. Attorneys argued that when Dr. Linskey raised concerns about patient safety due to evidence of poor surgical outcomes and unnecessary procedures, he was punished.
“Instead of doing the right thing, the university went after the whistleblower which is baffling to me,” said lead plaintiff lawyer Mark Quigley. “Our client exposed these, and other violations and was unfairly punished for speaking out,” added Quigley.
Over the course of the nearly month long trial, the plaintiff’s legal team outlined how the UC Regents retaliated against Dr. Linskey by getting him kicked out of the neurosurgery department and being cut off from all resident teaching contact. Clayman went to the highest levels of the university, including the Chancellors and the CEO, in an attempt to move Dr. Linskey out of the Department of Neurosurgery.
“Our client suffered damage to his professional reputation and standing within the UC Irvine community and the national academic neurosurgery community,” said plaintiff attorney Ivan Puchalt. “This verdict holds the medical school and the UC Regents accountable for failing to protect an employee from this kind of workplace retaliation,” added Puchalt.
Former Dean Ralph Clayman had previously undergone investigation by the OC Register in a “O.C. Watchdog” investigatory piece January 2014 headlined, “Ex-UCI Doctors: Whistleblowing Drew Retribution”. Mike Baker of the Seattle Times won the prestigious Selden Ring journalism award in 2018 for investigating the former Chair of neurosurgery at UC Irvine for subsequent behavior at Seattle’s Swedish-Cherry Hill Hospital in a series entitled, “Quantity of Care” that led to resignations as well as patient care reforms at that hospital.
-
Helping Our Clients Tell
Their Story & Get The Compensation They Deserve -
We've Recovered Billions of Dollars & Handled a Wide
Range Of Complex Cases
-
Best Law Firms by US News
Named in U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms,” Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP ranks as Tier 1 Personal Injury firm in Los Angeles.
-
The Inner Circle of Advocates
Founding partners Browne Greene and Bruce A. Broillet are both members of the exclusive invite-only Inner Circle of Advocates, as two of the top 100 plaintiff trial lawyers in America.
-
LACBA
All of our attorneys are proud to be active members of the Los Angeles County Bar Association or LACBA.
-
Consumer Attorneys of California
Many firm members have been honored by the Consumer Attorneys of California, including Browne Greene, Christine Spagnoli, and Bruce Broillet, recipients of the Marvin E. Lewis Award. In addition, attorneys Bruce Broillet, Scott Carr, Molly McKibben, and Tobin Lanzetta has been honored with the Consumer Attorney of the Year Award.
-
Best Lawyers
All 15 of our attorneys have been selected to Best Lawyers® after an extensive peer review process.
-
Top 10 Wrongful Death Verdicts in California in 2019
Our attorneys were featured in TopVerdict for having one of the Top 10 Wrongful Death Verdicts in California in 2019, with $15 million won for the plaintiff in Keck v. Bel-Air Bay Club.
-
Super Lawyers®
Our firm has more attorneys on the Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists than any other law firm in Southern California, with 15 members selected.
-
CAALA
Several partners are active members in the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, with attorneys Browne Greene, Bruce Broillet, and Christine Spagnoli named “Trial Lawyer of the Year."
-
WLALA
Firm partners Christine D. Spagnoli and Molly McKibben have both been honored by the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and are active members.
-
Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in California in 2019
After winning $2.6 million for the plaintiff’s side in a head-on collision case, our victory was named in the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in California in 2019 by TopVerdict.
-
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
Recipients of this recognition are held up to the same standards as for The Best Lawyers in America, but only legal professionals in the first ten years of their careers qualify. Four attorneys at GBW have been recognized with this award in 2021.
-
American Board of Trial Advocates
Several of our partners are members in the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national invite-only association consisting of the most experienced trial lawyers.
-
Top 100 Settlements in California in 2019
Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, was featured by TopVerdict in the Top 100 Settlements across all practice areas in California for 2019.
-
International Society of Barristers
Our team includes several Fellows and Associates with the invite-only International Society of Barristers in recognition of their trial advocacy.
-
International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Bruce A. Broillet and Christine D. Spagnoli are Fellows with the invite-only International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a group of elite trial lawyers from over 30 countries.
-
America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators
As a member of America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®, founding partner Bruce Broillet joins a select group of California lawyers. Only 0.5% of active attorneys in the United States receive this honor.
-
American College of Trial Lawyers
A preeminent trial lawyers’ organization in North America, the American College of Trial Lawyers have elected firm partners Bruce Broillet, Mark Quigley, and Geoffrey Wells as Fellows.
-
Lawdragon
Lawdragon has selected five of our firm’s attorneys to the 2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list.
-
National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40
The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 is a prestigious, invitation-only organization exclusive to the most qualified lawyers who have already proven their elite legal skills through trial results and leadership — all before the age of 40.
-
National Trial Lawyers: Top 100
Attorneys Scott Carr and Tim Wheeler hold membership to the National Trial Lawyers: Top 100, an invitation-only legal organization consisting of the nation’s premier trial lawyers.
.1).png "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch"){kind=logo}
.jpg "America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators")
.1).png "Lawdragon"){kind=logo}
.png "National Trial Lawyers: Top 100")
