Halifax doctor wins $1.4 million lawsuit against health authority

A jury has awarded a Halifax doctor what is believed to be the largest award ever for a loss of reputation lawsuit.

Dr. Gabrielle Horne was awarded $1.4 million in damages and $167,000 for legal fees incurred between 2002 and 2006.

The money was awarded in a lawsuit against the Nova Scotia Health Authority, which took 10 years to get to court.

“It is the largest award for loss of reputation damages in Canada that I am aware of,” her lawyer Michael Wright said in an emailed statement.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is the largest award for loss of reputation damages in Canada that I am aware of," her lawyer Michael Wright said in an emailed statement.

The damages were awarded for ‘bad faith’, meaning that the damage to Horne’s reputation and career was caused intentionally.

“I am deeply grateful to the jury who listened so carefully to my story over eight weeks, my lawyers who fought so hard for me, and all those who supported, encouraged and spoke out for me over the last 14 years,” Horne said.

READ MORE: Three Halifax doctors faced ‘denial of justice’ over workplace incidents: report

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The ruling ends a lengthy legal battle that Horne undertook because after her hospital privileges were restored in 2006, the health authority continued to insist that Horne had acted improperly.

“It was devastating to my professional reputation,” Horne said, as health authority’s actions forced her research project to shut down.

Her research focused on understanding why some patients with heart failure are stable for many years while others decline rapidly.

In Horne’s case, the initial dispute centred around her refusal to add the names of some colleagues to her research.

That sparked a series of complaints and led to the hospital limiting Horne’s privileges before it heard her side of the story.

In January, a report found that Horne and two other physicians were denied justice and that there was a failure of bylaws, policy, and process by both the university and the health authority in dealing with the disputes.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority -which was amalgamated out of separate health districts last year- said in a statement that “it’s not appropriate for us today to revisit the actions of previous organizations or administrators.”

“As a health authority, we are committed to ensuring staff and physicians have the right tools to do their jobs, and the appropriate environment to foster a respectful workplace.”

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Horne continues to work as a cardiologist at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and she coordinates the Maritime Connective Tissue Clinic, which helps patients who are genetically predisposed to aneurysms.

“I hope this decision sends a message to all institutions that enabling and abetting workplace bullying and abuse of power has consequences,” Horne said.