The head physician at the Friedrichshafen Clinic, who was relieved of his duties as part of a compliance procedure, is defending himself against his dismissal before the Ulm Labor Court. A conciliation meeting remained inconclusive.
Turbulence since December 2023
The procedure is taking place against the background of severe turbulence in which the Häfler Hospital has found itself since the suicide of a senior doctor at the beginning of December 2023. She had previously repeatedly criticized internal medical and structural decisions, which, according to her, had led to the deaths of patients in individual cases. Particularly in focus at the time: the chief physician, who has now gone to the labor court.
The doctor did not get through with her criticism, on the contrary. She was about to be fired. She then took her own life.
In the case, the Ravensburg and Stuttgart public prosecutors are investigating, among other things, suspicion of negligent homicide, failure to provide assistance and billing fraud. The presumption of innocence applies until the trial is completed.
Independent of the investigations by the public prosecutor and the police, the clinic commissioned a compliance investigation by an external law firm. It has not yet been completely completed, but one consequence of the investigation was the immediate termination of the chief physician in July 2024.
“Determination of the ineffectiveness of the termination”
He is defending himself against this step, as the Ulm Labor Court said when asked. The doctor has requested a “declaration of the ineffectiveness of the extraordinary termination,” confirms the court’s press spokesman.
Both sides – the clinic and the chief physician – have already met for a so-called conciliation meeting before the labor court. Because no agreement was reached, the responsible chamber initiated so-called adjudicatory proceedings.
A judge as mediator
Here, another labor court judge who was not previously involved in the proceedings acts as a kind of mediator or intermediary. The aim is a solution developed by the litigants themselves. According to the court, the decoupling from the strict regulations of procedural law creates “more favorable starting conditions for negotiations on an amicable solution to conflicts”.
The proceedings are not public, the litigants can “exchange themselves openly on a confidential level in an environment that promotes communication without the usual time pressure and without regard to procedural considerations and are accompanied by a specially trained adjudicator,” it says on the court’s homepage.
When an agreement is reached, there is often silence
If both sides come to an agreement in this process, they often agree not to disclose the outcome. If they do not agree, the case ends up back before the original chamber, which then makes a decision.
In one extreme, the termination without notice is confirmed, in the other extreme, it is annulled as invalid. Often the actual result is somewhere in the middle. For example, there are changes in the terms of termination; the person terminated can usually expect financial compensation. It is rather unusual for him to return to work.
