The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has fired back at a wrongful dismissal lawsuit by its former CEO, claiming Dr. Paul Woods lost the moral authority to lead the facility due to his cross-border travel, which included a Florida vacation.
In a statement of defence filed in Ontario Superior Court Thursday, the hospital asked that the $2.5 million suit filed against the LHSC by Woods a week ago be dismissed with costs. The hospital argues that Woods' reputation was harmed by his own "poor judgement and hypocrisy" rather than the actions of the LHSC. It also contends Woods did not disclose the full extent of his international travel to former board chair Amy Walby.
Woods was dismissed from his position as the head of the LHSC earlier this month, just two days after it was made public he had travelled to see his immediate family in the United States five times since March. The public disclosure of Woods' travel brought swift condemnation from hospital staff and members of the community, as cross-border travel has been restricted since March 21 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Woods has maintained that his employment was terminated in bad faith. In his statement of claim, he indicated he discussed his family situation and travel to the U.S. with Walby on three separate occasions.
However, the hospital maintains he was not forthright with Walby and withheld specifics including that other members of the hospital's leadership team had expressed concerns.
"Dr. Woods’ claim that Ms. Walby condoned his travel is a disingenuous attempt to shift blame for his own decisions onto the volunteer Chair of the Board," the statement of defence reads.
It alleges that the hospital's chief operating officer Neil Johnson and general counsel Susan Nickle went to Woods in March 2020 with concerns about the risks posed by the trips to Michigan to his health and personal reputation.
"When confronted with these issues, Dr. Woods grew angry. Dr. Woods said his travel did not concern Mr. Johnson and Ms. Nickle, asserting that it was a personal matter," the statement of defence alleges. "He told them not to question his judgment."
The statement of defence states Woods drove to Michigan on October 15 and then flew to Fort Myers, Florida on October 17 for a holiday. Johnson and Nickle are said to have both again raised concerns about the Florida trip with Woods, who again dismissed them.
On November 19, as LHSC's University Hospital was dealing with a significant COVID-19 outbreak that claimed the lives of 26 people, Woods sent out an email chastising hospital staff for failing to follow public health guidelines. Woods called the staff-to-staff transmission unacceptable.
"I have said this many times over the course of the pandemic but given our current situation it bears repeating: as health-care workers we must set ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to living and modeling public health guidelines both inside and outside our workplace," Woods wrote. "Willfully choosing to not adhere to our critical safety practices while at work may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination."
Once Woods' travel became public knowledge, the hospital board of directors began receiving feedback from staff, physicians, donors, and community members outraged by Woods' actions. Many contended that Woods had exposed hospital workers to risk of infection, and that it was hypocritical for him to have travelled after scolding staff for flouting public health rules.
"It quickly became clear that Dr. Woods had lost the moral authority to lead the hospital and his employment was terminated," the statement of defence reads.
The hospital's statement does indicate that Woods is entitled to compensation for his termination in the form of his base salary for up to 12 months and the continuation of some benefits under his contract.
None of the allegations made in the statement of claim or the statement of defence have been proven in court.
