Doctor’s Retaliation Claims Against Hospital Revived on Appeal

A doctor’s retaliation claims against his former employers got new life after a federal appeals court ruled he submitted enough evidence that a jury could find in his favor.

Matthew Byrnes’ claims against St. Catherine Hospital and Centura Health Corp., alleging he was fired for reporting sexual harassment against another doctor, can continue under a “cat’s paw” theory, Judge Scott M. Matheson Jr. said Thursday for the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Byrnes, a general surgeon and intensivist, worked at St. Catherine in Garden City, Kan., from 2012 to 2020. He reported a fellow doctor for alleged ...