SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane dermatologist won a $600,000 settlement and a rare public apology from Washington state health officials who went public with charges of drug abuse and medical fraud based on a bogus tip from his ex-wife.
The payment to Dr. William ‘‘Phil’’ Werschler, 54, is among the largest settlements in decades by the state Department of Health involving a physician, agency officials said. The public apology might be the first of its kind in the state.
In a separate lawsuit, Werschler collected more than $100,000 from his ex-wife, Kara Werschler.
She ignited the investigation late in the couple’s bitter divorce by filing an anonymous complaint studded with accusations of office cocaine binges, sex orgies with staff and patients, hiring prostitutes, and falsification of medical drug records.
The case decimated his practice and personal life, he told The Spokesman-Review last week. ‘‘This was a good-faith effort to protect the public, but there were oversights during the investigation,’’ the state’s official apology said. ‘‘We apologize for those oversights and regret any damage done to Dr. Werschler’s personal good will, reputation, and the distress this has caused his family.’’
Despite the apology, Phil Werschler said there remains an undercurrent of suspicion.
Why?
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The payment to Dr. William ‘‘Phil’’ Werschler, 54, is among the largest settlements in decades by the state Department of Health involving a physician, agency officials said. The public apology might be the first of its kind in the state.
In a separate lawsuit, Werschler collected more than $100,000 from his ex-wife, Kara Werschler.
She ignited the investigation late in the couple’s bitter divorce by filing an anonymous complaint studded with accusations of office cocaine binges, sex orgies with staff and patients, hiring prostitutes, and falsification of medical drug records.
The case decimated his practice and personal life, he told The Spokesman-Review last week. ‘‘This was a good-faith effort to protect the public, but there were oversights during the investigation,’’ the state’s official apology said. ‘‘We apologize for those oversights and regret any damage done to Dr. Werschler’s personal good will, reputation, and the distress this has caused his family.’’
Despite the apology, Phil Werschler said there remains an undercurrent of suspicion.
Why?
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