A jury awarded an electrophysiologist in Ohio $3.7 million in a race discrimination case, his lawyers reported.

The attorneys at Mowery Youell & Galeano represented Vincent Guinn, MD, in a civil lawsuit against Mount Carmel Health System and three physicians in Columbus. The suit alleged that Mount Carmel and doctors in the system intentionally discriminated and defamed Guinn, who is black.

The defendants claimed that Guinn failed to meet the standard of care while performing a procedure on a patient and Guinn then went through an administrative peer review process. The suit claimed that his privileges were unlawfully revoked in 2007 and 2008, leading to the filing of the case in 2009.

The law firm claimed that it obtained documents and evidence that demonstrated white physicians were treated more fairly than Guinn. “The white physicians, unlike Dr. Guinn, did not have any immediate action taken against their privileges despite significantly worse complications, including the death of patients,” attorney Nicholas W. Yaeger wrote.

After a 13-day trial in October in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, the jury ruled in favor of Guinn. They awarded him $1.5 million on a discrimination charge, $1.5 million on a conspiracy charge and $700,000 on defamation and tortious interference charges.

The three physicians named in the suit were Michael R. Murnane, MD; Barney B. Beaver, DO; and Thomas R. Alexis. MD, according to the Columbus Dispatch.