Doctor gets $325K settlement after claiming she was fired for complaint against Bangor hospital

24 June 2024

The former medical director of the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine settled a lawsuit alleging she was illegally fired.

Dr. Brenda Gowesky, of Alexandria, Virginia, and formerly Camden, sued the board and its executive director in federal court in June 2023. A settlement was reached and the lawsuit was dismissed Friday.

The board did not admit fault, according to the settlement. Gowesky will receive $325,000 from the board, with $160,000 going to attorney fees and court costs. She agreed to not apply for employment with the board again, but the organization will provide a neutral reference, the settlement said.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled.

A request for comment to Gowesky’s lawyer was not returned by time of publication. The Maine attorney general’s office provided the settlement document and had no comment, spokesperson Danna Hayes said.

Gowesky worked as an emergency room physician at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center for 10 years before she was fired in May 2017. She filed a claim with the Maine Human Rights Commission saying she was fired after reporting patient safety concerns, according to the lawsuit.

When the licensure board hired Gowesky in October 2019 the claim was pending and later settled in mediation.

She received praise from the executive director, Dennis Smith, during her first two months on the job, the lawsuit said. Then a Northern Light Health representative told the board it doubted Growesky’s ability to be fair because of the ongoing claim and the health system did not want her handling cases involving its doctors.

Gowesky’s three-month performance review happened a month late and included negative comments for the first time. It was designed to force her to resign, the complaint alleged.

She was fired March 5, 2020, and told she was not a team player, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the state.

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