Punitive Damages Not Recoverable in Doctor’s Suit Over Dismissal
The reversal of a doctor's $2.5 million claim against The Cooper Health System shows how hard it is to win punitive damages in breach-of-contract cases, even when asserting that patients' health and welfare are in jeopardy. A New Jersey judge had accepted Dr. Peter Kurnik's argument that the important issue of cardiac patient care was implicated by his dismissal from the hospital's cardiology department, but an appeals panel found that there was no evidence that harm to patients occurred.
