A recent court filing has brought to light a contentious legal battle involving allegations of professional misconduct, emotional distress, and negligence among medical professionals. The case was filed by Steven Weinstein in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on July 23, 2024, against Oscar Joe Hines and Kit M. Song.
Steven Weinstein, a licensed physician since 1984, claims that his former colleagues at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Oscar Joe Hines and Kit M. Song, engaged in a series of actions that have severely impacted his career and personal well-being. According to the complaint, the conflict began in June 2016 when Weinstein performed a breast exam on a female patient during a preoperative consultation. The patient later expressed discomfort with the examination and accused Weinstein of inappropriate behavior.
Weinstein reported the incident to Annette Mosley, the director of operations for his practice group, who then discussed it with Kit M. Song. Despite initial agreements that such exams were routine and necessary, the situation escalated when the patient filed complaints online alleging further misconduct by Weinstein. These complaints were forwarded to both Hines and Song.
In February 2017, after learning that the patient had filed a police report against him, Weinstein alleges that Hines and Song shifted into "self-protection" mode to save their own jobs. They allegedly fabricated evidence against him and falsely claimed he had agreed to certain restrictions on his practice. This led to an administrative hearing process fraught with delays and alleged procedural violations.
Weinstein resigned from his position in June 2017 under pressure from The Regents of the University of California (The Regents), who threatened termination if he did not resign voluntarily. Following his resignation, Hines and Song reportedly filed misleading reports with both the California Medical Board and the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which have hindered Weinstein's ability to find new employment as a physician.
The court partially affirmed and partially reversed the lower court's judgment on this matter. It upheld some aspects of Weinstein's complaint while dismissing others but allowed him to amend specific claims related to misrepresentation preventing former employees from obtaining employment.
Weinstein is seeking various forms of relief from the court including damages for emotional distress, correction of false reports made about him, and other compensatory measures.
Representing Steven Weinstein are attorneys Glenn E. Stern and Frederick H. Alschuler from Glenn Stern Law. The defendants are represented by Dean A. Bochner and Lacey L. Estudillo from Horvitz & Levy along with David J. Weiss and Nicholas A. Weiss from David Weiss Law. The case is being overseen by Judge Stephen Pfahler under Case ID B318163.