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Thomas v. Medical Center Physicians12/27/2002
ve officer and president of Mercy Medical Center. Sending the memo to the CEO of a hospital with whom Medical Center worked would satisfy any outside reporting requirement.
Once the court defines the public policy, whether the public policy was violated is a question for the jury. Questions of fact remain as to whether Thomas' conduct in reporting what he considered the Doctor's misconduct, and whether his writing and distribution of the February 17, 1998, memo were in furtherance of the above defined public policy. There are also questions of fact regarding whether Thomas was terminated for acting in the furtherance of the public policy.
3. Unclean Hands
Finally, Medical Center presents an "unclean hands" argument with regard to Thomas's claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy, contending that Thomas was required to report the allegations of misconduct to the Idaho Board of Medicine under Idaho Code § 54-1818, and his failure to do so precludes his claim of discharge in violation of public policy.
Idaho Code § 54-1818 does require physicians to report violations by other physicians, but there is an ambiguity in the statute as to what violations are to be reported. The statue requires physicians to report violations of Idaho Code § 54-1810, but next to where the statute indicates that Idaho Code § 54-1810 is the appropriate provision, there are brackets containing Idaho Code § 54-1814, suggesting that it is the violation of this statute that must be reported. Compiler's notes to I.C. § 54-1818 state that the "bracketed section number '§ 54-1814' was inserted by the compiler since § 54-1810 as it related to grounds for revocation or suspension of licenses was repealed and § 54-1814 now deals with such subject matter."
This Court interprets statutes according to the plain, express meaning of the provision in question and will resort to judicial construction only if the provision is ambiguous, incomplete, absurd, or arguably in conflict with other laws. Peasley Transfer & Storage Co. v. Smith, 132 Idaho 732, 742, 979 P.2d 605, 615 (1999). This Court disfavors statutory amendment by implication absent clear, unequivocal legislative intent. Wilkins v. Fireman's Fund American Life Ins. Co., 107 Idaho 1006, 695 P.2d 391 (1985). However, the evidence indicates that the legislature intended Idaho Code § 54-1818 to refer to Idaho Code § 54-1814. Idaho Code § 54-1818 was passed in 1976 as the reporting statute for malpractice as then defined by Idaho Code § 54-1810. Idaho Code § 54-1818 has not been amended since 1976. However, in 1977, the legislature undertook an extensive rewriting of the Idaho Medical Malpractice Act, repealing, along with many other sections, Idaho Code § 54-1810. In its place, the legislature passed Idaho Code § 54-1814, which is clearly the successor statute of Idaho Code § 54-1810 given their substantially, almost exactly, identical provisions. Also, current Idaho Code § 54-1810 merely demands that all licensed physicians take a written exam to be certified, and does not address what constitutes malpractice. Determining that Idaho Code § 54-1818 still refers to Idaho Code § 54-1810 would frustrate and almost completely nullify the effectiveness of Idaho Code § 54-1818 and the responsibility of the medical field to police itself. The compiler's notes state an accurate correction of the statute. Idaho Code § 54-1818 requires licensed physicians to report the conduct of other licensed physicians that violates the provisions of Idaho Code § 54-1814.
As for Thomas's failure to report the allegations of misconduct to the Idaho Board of Medicine, the failure of Thomson to report the allegation of misconduct doe
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