Documents from a case that was settled out of court, with a non-disclosure agreement, have revealed the toxic situation that developed at a practice at Medicross Randburg, where a doctor was thrown out amid claims of threatening to shoot his colleagues, sexual harassment and breaking a cupboard door, reports News24.
Dr Alexandros Economakis challenged the move in the Gauteng High Court, alleging that fabricated misconduct claims by Dr M Elias and Associates Incorporated were aimed at getting him out.
In his affidavit, Economakis, who was accused of being abusive and intimidating, said he was fired without a hearing, kicked out of his medical practice, banned from the building and told to hand over his shares for R11.
After 25 years, he was axed in July with immediate effect, denied access to patient files and could no longer treat his patients. Additionally, the other shareholders demanded he transfer his shares to them for just R11 – all of which was done unlawfully and without giving him a fair hearing.
Several doctors at the practice also purportedly adopted a round-robin resolution to terminate him – before all of this, Economakis said.
This came after months of tension at the practice, as ongoing disagreements spilt into heated email and WhatsApp exchanges among the staff over the use of locum doctors, especially on weekends.
The court papers detailed staff complaints against Economakis, in which he was accused of being rude, disrespectful, or exhibiting erratic behaviour.
Dr Myron Elias replaced Economakis as the managing practitioner and was also made the sole director in May.
While it appeared that the resolution was initially shelved – and Economakis apologised in the doctors’ WhatsApp group – two alleged incidents immediately afterwards were then used as the basis for his termination.
Economakis had allegedly told one of the doctors who had supported his removal that she and the others were “fucking cowards”, which he disputed, and the next day, another doctor claimed that Economakis had threatened to shoot him and the other signatories.
Economakis denied this, too.
These allegations were used to revive the earlier termination effort, and he was subsequently dismissed. A settlement proposal required him to transfer his shares for R11, but his attorneys refused this, issued a final demand to withdraw the termination notice, threatened to file a criminal complaint, and warned of civil proceedings for damages estimated at R28m.
When this demand was not met, Economakis launched an urgent court application to have the termination declared invalid.
The termination letter summed up the events, stating that the “termination is a consequence of (Economakis’) unacceptable conduct displayed towards consultants and Medicross staff”.
Court papers filed by the practice detailed allegations of serious misconduct by Economakis, as well as incidents immediately after the resolution. The doctors claimed that he had made “sexual, offensive, and humiliating remarks” towards female staff, although no specific dates or exact words were mentioned in the court papers.
There were also claims that Economakis had become violent in a urine-testing room and had broken a cupboard door. He was also accused of maliciously damaging or sabotaging the practice’s CCTV system, as well as of creating a hostile working environment and sending abusive WhatsApp messages about colleagues or staff and then deleting them.
No evidence was provided in the papers.
Economakis denied all misconduct and said that many of the allegations were hearsay, fabricated, or taken out of context. He argued that procedural and contractual requirements were not met, and that no peer-review process was followed.
The consultancy agreement requires a peer-review committee appointed by Medicross to review a doctor’s case before termination for cause.
He argued that the company’s Memorandum of Incorporation had notice and voting requirements that were not met. The practice operates out of premises owned by Medicross. The company also provides medical equipment, computer systems, patient filing systems, and administrative staff.
In August, the High Court ruled in Economakis’ favour, declaring the termination letter invalid and preventing the practice from blocking his access to it.
The practice then applied for leave to appeal. Last week, the case was withdrawn from the roll after the parties reached a settlement.
News24 article – Doctor’s ousting lays bare toxic Medicross practice feud (Restricted access)
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