Eleven new complaints and one lawsuit have been filed against Sam Wise, DDS, who has faced much criticism since taking over his Longview, Wash.-based practice in 2019, according to The Daily News.
Dr. Wise bought Lower Columbia Oral Health from Daniel Haghighi, DDS, in April 2019 and has faced a flurry of complaints from staff and patients since then. Dr. Wise claims these complaints have been ordered by Dr. Haghighi, whom he sued shortly after taking over the practice. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Haghighi broke their sales agreement by referring patients to other practices.
"The bottom line is that all this is fake, by one person," Dr. Wise told The Daily News.
Washington's department of health has closed four complaints against Dr. Wise with no discipline, and it is currently investigating 11 more. The filings accuse Dr. Wise of medical malpractice, unethical workplace operations, wrongful billing, dishonest advertising and inappropriate prescription practices. State health officials told The Daily News more complete records should be available by late September.
Dr. Wise also faces a lawsuit from former employee Darci Cooper, who left Lower Columbia Oral Health in March after working there since 2007. Her lawsuit — which she filed against Dr. Wise, the practice, and his wife and office manager, Rima Wise — claims she lost wages due to wrongfully modified time sheets, unpaid work during breaks and a reduced final paycheck.
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