Backed by ACLU, whistleblowing doctor sues Bellingham hospital after he was fired
Source: Seattle Times
BELLINGHAM — Fired whistleblower emergency physician Dr. Ming Lin, backed by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit Thursday against former employer PeaceHealth, one of its top administrators and a national medical staffing firm, seeking damages and reinstatement after his March dismissal from a Bellingham hospital.
Lin, 58, was fired from PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center after publicly protesting what he called inadequate workplace measures to protect hospital personnel and patients from the COVID-19 disease. He became a global cause célèbre among health care workers who said they were threatened or intimidated by employers when they spoke out about safety issues during the early days of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The suit, filed in Whatcom County Superior Court, claims wrongful termination, breach of contract, discrimination, defamation and infliction of emotional stress. It also seeks unspecified damages and reinstatement of Lin to his post of more than 17 years.
The complaint names as defendants the hospital’s owner, Vancouver, Washington-based, not-for-profit PeaceHealth; Richard DeCarlo, a PeaceHealth executive who publicly accused Lin of lying about hospital procedures; and TeamHealth, the national medical firm which technically employed Lin under an emergency-department staffing contract.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/aclu-joins-ousted-doctor-ming-lin-in-lawsuit-against-bellingham-hospital/
