Lawyers representing Graves Gilbert Clinic are scheduled to appear in court later this month in the next step following the medical provider’s bankruptcy filing.
The Bowling Green based multi-specialty clinic recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
The decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, often referred to “reorganization” bankruptcy, came after a jury issued a verdict against Graves-Gilbert in a medical malpractice case in 2022.
Alice and Lloyd Duff sued the clinic and Dr. Tage Haase in 2014 after Alice developed severe complications from a perforated bowel after an elective hernia surgery.
According to Chad Gardner, the Duff’s attorney, Alice had a total of five surgeries following her hernia surgery that eventually resulted in a bloodstream infection that caused retinal damage and left her legally blind.
Nine years after the initial incident, the jury for the Warren County Circuit Court awarded the Duffs a total of $21.3 million in damages. The Duffs are the two largest unsecured creditors on the GGC bankruptcy filing.
Gardner told WKU Public Radio that he and his clients were anticipating the clinic’s bankruptcy filing.
“They (GGC) had told us they were going to in the context of trying to get us to take significantly less than the amount of the verdict the jury awarded. We did some basic research of their financial condition, and we realized the Graves Gilbert does have the ability to pay this judgment.”
Gardner said he didn’t think filing for bankruptcy was necessary and that the Duffs were willing to work with the clinic.
“Before the trial, we made an offer that would have allowed them (GGC) to settle this case for the amount of their insurance coverage and we did not even receive a response to that offer,” Gardner said. “Since the trial, we’ve offered to take significantly less than the verdict and those offers have either been ignored or rejected.”
Graves Gilbert Clinic didn’t respond to WKU Public Radio’s request for comment, but in an online statement the physician directors of the clinic said they "feel strongly that the total verdict of $21.3 million in this case is beyond the pale of reasonable compensation. This amount is substantially higher than the maximum covered by our malpractice insurance, and the clinic simply does not have the resources to pay all of the very substantial difference.”
A statement from the Physician-Directors of Graves Gilbert Clinic. pic.twitter.com/nx953ORzmq
— GravesGilbertClinic (@GravesGilbert) December 30, 2022
The statement went on to say Graves-Gilbert “tried every way possible to reach a reasonable compromise, including the use of neutral intermediaries and an offer of installment payments, but nothing worked. The clinic’s Chapter 11 petition was filed as a last resort on the day the judgment became final.”
Graves Gilbert won’t be closing its doors after filing for bankruptcy, according to the statement.
Lawyers representing Graves Gilbert Clinic are scheduled to have a bankruptcy hearing on January 25. Gardner said in a previous hearing, the clinic reported having $217 million in annual revenue.
Graves Gilbert Clinic also plans to appeal the 2022 medical malpractice verdict.
