Nurse awarded $41M in wrongful termination lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente

A jury has awarded a nurse, formerly employed by Kaiser Permanente, $41 million as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit against the nonprofit health system—$30 million of which is strictly punitive damages. 

According to the complaint, Maria Gatchalian was terminated in 2019 after she made numerous complaints related to staffing and patient safety at Kaiser's Los Angeles hospital, where she worked in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Central to the case was an alleged incident in 2017 where a patient’s father allegedly had a knife with him while in the NICU. Staff was not alerted to the potential danger despite a supervisor having knowledge of the weapon, the lawsuit stated. 

A report from the Sacramento Bee detailing the trial does not say anyone was harmed as a result of the father carrying a knife. However, the outlet said it was revealed in court that Gatchalian reported the incident to hospital and union leaders, which allegedly resulted in retaliatory harassment.

Attorneys representing the nurse contend she was further discouraged from making formal complaints, even if they were incidents involving patient safety. 

In 2019, Gatchalian was eventually fired at the age of 63, having worked for Kaiser for more than 30 years. She was promoted to a position as NICU charge nurse in 2006. 

While the jury agreed that Gatchalian was wrongfully terminated as an act of retaliation for speaking out, the health system maintains that she was fired with cause for violating policy.

Lawyers representing Kaiser added that they will appeal the final decision and judgment, arguing the allegations are not supported by the facts. 

For more, read the Sacramento Bee’s full coverage at the link below.