A physician assistant claims she was terminated for refusing to provide an employee’s protected healthcare information to the patient’s employer.
Evelyn Blanchard filed the lawsuit May 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Good Samaritan Hospital Physician Services Inc.
According to the complaint, Good Samaritan Hospital allegedly entered into a contract with Toyota Boshoku to provide primary and acute care as well as worker’s compensation coverage for its employees and their dependents.
Blanchard claims she was hired Nov. 29, 2016, as a physician assistant at the defendant’s clinic located at Toyota Boshoku of Illinois. The initial term of her employment agreement was from Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2019. Her agreement was expected to automatically renew for an additional two-year term ending on Dec. 31, 2021.
On Dec. 2, 2019, Blanchard claims Toyota Boshoku human resource manager Jason Carson inquired with the defendant’s medical assistant KayCee Rich via text message to her personal cell phone about whether an employee had been seen at the clinic on April 11, 2019. He told Rich Toyota Boshoku was in the process of terminating the employee for attendance issues. Rich informed Carson that if the employee had a private visit then the employee would have to authorize the release of any healthcare information. The next day, Carson came to the clinic and again requested confidential medical information. During the exchange, Blanchard was present in the reception area of the clinic and told Carson the requested information was protected healthcare patient information.
Carson left the clinic after stating that they were not addressing Toyota Boshoku’s causation concerns regarding its worker compensation claims and were not providing the information he requested. He added that the clinic may no longer be needed by Toyota Boshoku.
Blanchard and Rich allegedly notified their manager, Mickey Pagan, of the incident and contacted Good Samaritan Hospital’s compliance officer about the incident. Compliance officer Wendy Mangin confirmed that Blanchard accurately conveyed the HIPAA obligations.
Then on Dec. 4, 2019, assistant human resource manager Jamie Dwyer again requested the protected healthcare information. Pagan visited Blanchard that same day after talking with Kelly Flake of Toyota Boshoku.
“Mickey Pagan informed plaintiff that her behavior had put the contract between defendant and TBIL in jeopardy and that she needed to change her attitude to address the big challenge that she would have ahead to repair the alleged damage to the agreement between defendant and TBIL or that she would be replaced,” the suit states.
Blanchard made a corporate compliance complaint to Stanley Graber on Dec. 17, 2019.
On Jan. 2, 2020, Blanchard met with Good Samaritan Hospital’s COO Adam Thacker and Vice President Dean Wagoner concerning the corporate compliance complaint. Thacker advised that she would continue meetings with Flake to see if the relationship was repairable.
On Jan. 6, Thacker and Pagan showed up unannounced at the clinic just as Blanchard’s shift was beginning and informed her that they were terminating her contract.
“That defendant through its representatives offered plaintiff an addendum to her contract which amounted to a severance agreement and voluntary termination by the plaintiff which she refused to execute,” the suit states.
Blanchard continued her employment until the termination date established by the defendant on March 6.
She argues that if she had released or authorized the release of individual and identifiable health information of an employee, she would suffer adverse civil and criminal liability.
Blanchard seeks compensation of more than $75,000, plus punitive damages, court costs, and any other relief the court deems just.
She argues that the “defendant’s behavior is willful and wanton and without due regard to plaintiff’s obligations under both federal and state law, as set forth above, sufficient to justify the award of punitive damages against the defendant in a sum that will deter the defendant from continuing this unlawful activity,” the suit states.
Blanchard is represented by Mark Johnson of Johnson Schneider & Ferrell LLC in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:20-cv-476