Baltimore County administrators may have violated county charter in hiring a doctor who has a history of siding with the government in workers? compensation cases, officials alleged.
Baltimore County Council members today will consider authorizing a contract with Dr. Peter Oroszlan to examine county employees who file insurance claims. But six to eight county police officers have complained that Oroszlan ? who the county paid at least $60,000 for exams last year without a required government contract ? arbitrarily found them unfit for duty, police union President Cole Weston said.
“In some specific cases, he has not found in the officer?s behalf, when there have been qualified experts in specific fields that have differed with his opinion,” Weston said. “Clearly the county has identified him as somebody they?re comfortable using and they use him frequently.”
Some of the officers are pursuing legal solutions, said lawyer Kathleen Cahill, who herself filed a lawsuit against the county, claiming it did not satisfy her public information request pertaining to Oroszlan.
Cahill questioned why county administrators chose not to put the contract, along with three other medical specialists, out for a competitive bid. No evidence exists that a waiver for the bid process was approved before County Administrator Fred Homan authorized the $475,000 annual contract, according to notes prepared by county auditors.
“They are shopping for medical opinions outside of the legal procurement process and with those opinions then target the county?s work force,” Cahill said.
The county requires council approval of purchases greater than $25,000. Because each exam does not exceed the limit, they arguably do not require a contract, county spokesman Don Mohler said.
The doctors were chosen outside the bid process, he said, for their expertise.
“It?s not just a doctor,” Mohler said. “You want someone not only with the expertise these folks have but someone who is willing to devote an inordinate amount of time to review the files.”
