MD Delegate Fined $15K For Operating During Remote Hearings

COLUMBIA, MD — State delegate Terri Hill, a Democrat, will be fined $15,000 for tuning in to two legislative hearings remotely while operating on patients.

Hill, a plastic surgeon, lives in Columbia. She was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014 and represents parts of Baltimore and Howard Counties. The municipalities Hill represents include Columbia, Ellicott City, Catonsville, Elkridge, Landsdowne, Ilchester, and Baltimore Highlands.

The fine, first reported by the Maryland Daily Record, comes after a Maryland Board of Physicians investigation into complaints against Hill that were brought up earlier this year.

The Board of Physicians issued their findings and a reprimand on Oct. 19. Hill told the Board her patients gave permission for her to join two legislative committee meetings remotely while she was in the operating room, documents show.

The surgeries in question took place on Feb. 19 and Mar. 12, a Board of Physicians document shows.

Hill told the Board she gave testimony for "less than three minutes" on Feb. 19 while in the operating room for an abdominal surgery, and listened to a discussion on Mar. 12 for about an hour while in the operating room for an abdominal and back surgery. The Board says both of these operations were major surgeries.

One patient told the Board she agreed to Hill participating in the meeting during surgery, and one said she did not recall Hill asking for her permission, documents show.

Hill has to pay the fine within one year, or her license will not be renewed, documents show.