Scott-Mckinney, M.D. v. Children's National Medical Center

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJuly 5, 2022
DocketCivil Action No. 2019-2980
StatusPublished

This text of Scott-Mckinney, M.D. v. Children's National Medical Center (Scott-Mckinney, M.D. v. Children's National Medical Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scott-Mckinney, M.D. v. Children's National Medical Center, (D.D.C. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

STACY SCOTT-MCKINNEY, M.D.,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No. 1:19-cv-02980 (TNM)

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER/CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Dr. Stacy Scott-McKinney sued Children’s National Medical Center (Children’s

National, or the Hospital) under the D.C. Human Rights Act. She alleged the Hospital

discriminated against her because of her disability when it denied her a scribe to assist in her

work as a physician. A jury agreed and awarded $200,000 in non-economic damages. Scott-

McKinney now seeks more remedies—injunctive relief, back pay, and front pay—and the

Hospital objects. The Court held an evidentiary hearing and received post-hearing briefing on

remedies. Considering the evidence adduced at trial and the post-trial damages hearing, as well

as the parties’ briefing, the Court finds Scott-McKinney is entitled to some prospective

injunctive relief but has not proven economic damages.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES

As early as 2017, Scott-McKinney had pain and other symptoms in her neck, shoulder,

and hand. Both parties agree Scott-McKinney’s physical ailments make her “disabled” under

federal and D.C. law. Her work as a physician in the Hospital’s Laurel, Maryland, practice—in particular, typing and clicking during medical notetaking—exacerbated that disability. The

Hospital provided Scott-McKinney a scribe to assist in those notetaking responsibilities to

ameliorate her pain. Then, from July 2019 to November 2020, the Hospital removed the scribe.

Scott-McKinney sued. She argued the Hospital’s failure to provide a scribe violated the

District’s anti-discrimination law (the D.C. Human Rights Act or DCHRA). A jury agreed,

awarding $200,000 in non-economic damages. The only remaining question is whether the

Court should also award back pay, front pay, and/or injunctive relief.

The DCHRA allows a plaintiff to recover “damages and such other remedies as may be

appropriate.” D.C. Code § 2-1403.16(a). Those remedies may include an “order . . . requiring

such respondent to cease and desist from such unlawful discriminatory practice” as well as

“compensatory damages to the person aggrieved by such practice.” Id. § 2-1403.13(a)(1),

(a)(1)(D); see also id. § 2-1403.16(b). A court may make factual findings to determine what

relief is appropriate, but those findings and the relief it awards must be “consistent with the jury

verdict.” Porter v. Natsios, 414 F.3d 13, 21 (D.C. Cir. 2005). Ultimately, the plaintiff bears the

burden of “proving damages with reasonable certainty.” Robinson v. District of Columbia, 341

F. Supp. 3d 97, 109 (D.D.C. 2018) (cleaned up); see also D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 4 § 200.3 (noting

an intent to “award damages of any nature whatever which can be fairly proved to have resulted

from acts of discrimination”).

Ultimately, Scott-McKinney does not show she suffered—or will suffer—economic

damages because of Children’s National failing to provide a scribe. She has shown a reasonable

likelihood Children’s National may discriminate against her again by removing her scribe,

entitling her to an injunction prohibiting the Hospital from doing so. There is no evidence,

however, showing a need for broader, company-wide relief.

2 The Court explains its conclusion for each form of relief below, but certain credibility

findings are relevant to all forms of relief and thus warrant preliminary discussion. At the

evidentiary hearing, Scott-McKinney testified about her symptoms, their effect on her work, and

her alleged lost wages due to losing her scribe. She also proffered several demonstrative

exhibits, videotaped deposition testimony from Dr. David Levin (one of her treating physicians)

introduced at trial, and doctor’s notes documenting her disability diagnosis and prognosis.

Children’s National relied mostly on Levin’s videotaped deposition testimony, live testimony at

the evidentiary hearing from its Director of Business Operations, Mark Janowiak, and cross-

examination of Plaintiff’s witnesses. Reviewing this evidence, the Court makes the following

initial findings of fact:

• Scott-McKinney is a generally credible witness. Her demeanor throughout the evidentiary hearing was calm and precise, suggesting honesty. Substantively, Scott- McKinney gave compelling testimony showing that her disability has limited her ability to manage a typical patient load. • Janowiak is a highly credible witness with background knowledge that makes him uniquely qualified to testify about physician compensation at Children’s National. Because Janowiak calculates physician pay at the Laurel Practice, he is well- positioned to opine on whether (and how much) Scott-McKinney lost out on compensation during the time she worked without a scribe. He came across as very intelligent and competent in his field. • When Scott-McKinney and Janowiak’s back/front pay calculations conflict, the Court finds Janowiak’s testimony more credible. Although the Court found Scott- McKinney to be generally credible, her testimony on this point is self-serving—she has every incentive to inflate her past and potential lost wages to increase her pay— and well outside her area of expertise. More, her lost-pay calculations appear to be adopted from a now-abandoned expert report, and cross-examination during the evidentiary hearing showed those calculations do not reflect how the Hospital compensates physicians. By contrast, Janowiak’s testimony was well-supported by actuarial explanation. • Doctor’s notes recording Plaintiff’s diagnosis and treatment are probative but ultimately entitled to little weight. The Court found adequate foundation authenticating those notes, but they do not (on their face) establish causation between Scott-McKinney’s disability and the Hospital removing her scribe. Without supporting testimony to provide that causal link, they are of little probative value.

3 With these general findings of fact in mind, the Court turns to its more particularized

findings for each form of relief.

II. BACK PAY

Scott-McKinney is not entitled to back pay because the evidence shows the Hospital’s

discrimination did not impact her pay in Fiscal Year 2020 or Fiscal Year 2021.

To understand why requires some understanding of how Children’s National

compensates physicians. The Hospital’s physician pay consists of base compensation and

incentive compensation. See, e.g., Pl.’s Ex. 119 (FY 2020 Annual Physician Compensation

Reconciliation Report). Janowiak, explained how those two forms of pay break down.

Children’s National calculates what it calls “actual earned compensation” by multiplying a

physician’s net medical revenue by an inverse expense ratio (total expenses/total charges). See

May 2, 2022, Remedies Hearing Tr. (RH Tr.) 133:15–134:11 (Testimony of M. Janowiak). A

physician’s base compensation is 85% of the rolling three-year average of that actual earned

compensation figure. See id. at 134:10–11. If a physician’s annual actual earned compensation

exceeds her base compensation, she can receive that excess as incentive pay. See id. at 132:16–

17. But, if a practice runs a budget deficit, actual earned compensation is reduced on a pro rata

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Scott-Mckinney, M.D. v. Children's National Medical Center, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scott-mckinney-md-v-childrens-national-medical-center-dcd-2022.