Bethan Dinning

A physician licensed to practice in the United States sought to obtain full licensing in Ontario through the Pathway 4 program.

He was employed by a hospital under a one-year fixed-term contract conditional on successful completion of the program.

Following personality conflicts with members of the cardiac team and a dispute over work assignments, his supervisor withdrew, causing his conditional license to automatically expire and his employment to terminate.

The trial judge dismissed his claims for wrongful dismissal, bad faith conduct, and defamation.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the physician was wrongfully dismissed.

However, the court remitted issues regarding quantification of damages, bad faith conduct in the manner of dismissal, and defamation to a new trial due to inadequate reasons from the trial judge.

Dr. Amir Gholami, a pediatric cardiac anaesthesiologist, sued The Hospital for Sick Children and two individual doctors for wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, various torts, and moral/punitive damages.

Dr. Gholami was employed under a restricted license (Pathway 4) requiring supervision, which was conditional on maintaining his certificate.

Concerns arose regarding his integration into the cardiac sub-group and his attitude.

He refused an offer to shift his focus from cardiac cases, insisting on his interpretation of the contract.

His supervisor subsequently resigned, leading to the automatic expiration of his certificate and the termination of his appointment.

The court found Dr. Gholami's interpretation of his contract to be misguided and unreasonable, and that his damages were directly caused by his own actions, including his refusal of reasonable offers and confrontational communications.

The court also noted his failure to exercise statutory rights under the Public Hospitals Act.

All of Dr. Gholami's claims were dismissed.