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February 9th, 2007 at 5:49 pm

Kaiser kidney program whistleblower settles retaliation lawsuit

in: Kaiser Fraud, Corruption & Cover Ups, Kaiser Kidney Transplant Scandal, Kaiser Kills, Kaiser Permanente Lawsuits, Kaiser Retaliation

From San Francisco Business Times:

Kaiser whistleblower settles lawsuit over abrupt firing ? Merlin asked Kaiser for $5 million in damages

by Chris Rauber

David Merlin, the former administrative director of Kaiser Permanente?s troubled Northern California kidney transplant unit, has settled his wrongful termination lawsuit against Kaiser following a Dec. 18 arbitration hearing.

Merlin lost his job in February 2006 after eight weeks, following his questioning the safety, management and oversight of the unit by Kaiser and its Permanente Medical Group. The suit, filed in mid-July in San Francisco Superior Court and seeking at least $5 million in damages, said the transplant program ?was so poorly organized and unprofessionally managed that it failed to comply with state and federal requirements and was compromising patient care, leading to unnecessary suffering and possibly deaths.?

Merlin also brought his concerns to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) and other regulators, and to the news media, resulting in a
series of huge fines, scathing regulatory reports and media scrutiny of the transplant center?s woes.

Matthew Schiffgens, Kaiser?s spokesman on the transplant issue, confirmed that the Oakland-based health-care giant had settled the case, without providing any further details.

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  • 1

    I just recently came across this website and would like to clarify, for the record, that I did finalize my wrongful termination lawsuit against Kaiser, the case has been settled, the terms are confidential, and I cannot discuss it further but……there is no gag order involved. I am free to write, speak or testify about all the details of what I saw, heard, read or witnessed during my time inside the Kaiser kidney transplant program. I am currently pursuing numerous avenues that will help achieve full disclosure of the truth (the real story that was overlooked or downplayed by federal, state and San Francisco city officials, physician leaders and public advocacy groups as well as the California and national news media).

    David Merlin

    David Merlin on March 5th, 2007 15:07
  • 2

    Thanks for the clarification and good luck with future endeavors. If we can ever assist in any way, please let us know.

    Admin on March 5th, 2007 15:13
  • 3

    Is it true that Kaiser is ready to settle its lawsuit in regards to the transplant lawsuit?

    m.kuwabara on April 26th, 2007 07:10
  • 4

    I haven’t heard anything specific about a settlement.

    Admin on April 26th, 2007 07:23

 

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