Lawsuit by neonatologist against HCA Midwest goes to court

A lawsuit by a neonatologist William Topper against Kansas City-based HCA Midwest is headed to court. Topper is the former director of neonatal intensive care at Research Medical Center and Centerpoint Medical Center, which are both owned by HCA Midwest. Topper sued in July 2007 over his firing, alleging that HCA prematurely terminated his contract without cause because it wanted to replace him with neonatologist Kathleen Weatherstone. Weatherstone, who oversaw neonatal intensive care at HCA's Overland Park Regional Medical Center, was appointed the new director of the Research neonatal intensive-care unit.