Indiana University Health, Inc. d/b/a IU Health Methodist Hospital (IU Health) and Methodist Health Group, Inc. (MHG) are suing Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine Center, P.C. (Brady Sports Medicine or Methodist Sports Medicine). All the organizations are based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Lawsuit Brewing Over Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine
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The Brady Sports Medicine clinic was founded more than 30 years ago by Dr. Thomas A. Brady.
IU Health and MHG filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. The complaint alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.
The complaint claims that “for nearly 100 years,” MHG operated Methodist Hospital of Indiana, a health care institution in the State of Indiana. IU Health (formerly known as Clarian Health Partners, Inc.) was created in 1997 as a consolidation of Methodist Hospital and other health care organizations. According to the complaint, IU Health now operates Methodist Hospital. The complaint asserts that during the consolidation, “MHG licensed to IU Health the exclusive right to use and sublicense the METHODIST mark in connection with health care services, programs, and all related activities.”
Furthermore, alleges the complainant, in 1990 MHG purportedly gave Brady Sports Medicine permission to brand itself “Methodist Sports Medicine.” The organization provides sports medicine and orthopedic services, with its primary practice location at the Methodist Medical Plaza North. MHG and Brady Sports Medicine also allegedly formed ambulatory surgery centers together.
The issues in the matter seemed to arise in 2019 when IU Health and MHG purportedly learned that Brady Sports Medicine was going to relocate its primary location “to a competing Franciscan Alliance health care campus where a new orthopedic hospital is being constructed.” At the same time, IU Health and MHG also supposedly learned that Brady Sports Medicine was going to “withdraw from the ASC [ambulatory surgery center] joint venture.”
IU Health and MHG claim that Methodist Sports Medicine’s unauthorized use of the Methodist trademark in its name is “likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception in the market…and to falsely suggest that TABSMC [Brady Sports Medicine] and its services are sponsored by, connected to, or associated with” IU Health and MHG.
IU Health and MHG are asking the court to enjoin Brady Sports Medicine from using the METHODIST mark. Additionally, IU Health and MHG are asking for damages, profits, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
As of the date of this article, Brady Sports Medicine has not yet filed a response.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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