My dad, Dr. Norman H. Kramer, told me a story repeatedly about something that happened when he was a medical resident in Cincinnati.

He had picked up a patient’s chart after the patient underwent surgery and looked at an X-ray. According to my dad, he immediately blurted out, “This man didn’t need surgery!”

The next thing he knew, he was called into the office of the lead physician who had performed the surgery.

My dad said the doctor warned him that if he ever said anything like that again, he would never practice medicine again.

I have heard that story so many times over the years that I have to wonder whether it has influenced the way I view what happened to Dr. Khammad. Maybe it has given me a bias.

But I have also spoken with Dr. Khammad at length. He comes across to me as competent, sincere, and honest. Importantly, he did not know my father’s story before we spoke. When he described what he experienced and his concerns about disagreeing with hospital policies, his account felt authentic to me.

That is what makes this case so personal for me.

My father’s story has stayed with me because it raised a question that goes far beyond medicine: What happens when someone inside an institution believes that something is wrong and speaks up?

Ideally, the answer should be that the concern is investigated. The person raising it should not have to fear that questioning a decision will cost them their career.

It is a shame that a resident with a grievance against a hospital could not find an attorney willing to take on the medical establishment. Dr. Khammad has decided to take it on himself.

I am rooting for him.