HCA to sell hospitals being sued for malpractice, as SEC investigate Frist [View All]

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http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap10-10-200007.asp?t=apnew&vts=101020052012
Lawyers in W. Va. hospital lawsuit question HCA motives

By LAWRENCE MESSINA
ASSOCIATED PRESS


CHARLESTON, W.Va., Oct. 10 — HCA Inc.'s plan to sell five hospitals, including its four in West Virginia, is a ruse to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in potential damages from malpractice allegations against a doctor, according to lawyers who have asked the state to review the $330 million deal.

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The proposed sale was announced in July, four months after a Putnam County circuit judge ruled that West Virginia's caps on damages in medical malpractice cases do not apply to the allegations against Putnam General and its parent company in the lawsuits against Dr. John A. King and his former assistant.

With more than 270 hospitals and surgery centers in 23 states, HCA said it wanted to shed all facilities ''primarily in rural and nonurban markets'' when it proposed selling Putnam General, along with St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg, St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley and Clinch Valley Medical Center in Richlands, Va.

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The lawsuits come as HCA also deals with a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the massive sale of HCA shares by company insiders and executives, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., totaling some $112 million between January and June. Frist has said he sold the shares to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest, using only information that was publicly available.