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Boston Children’s must pay nearly $2 million in retaliation lawsuit
The trial also gave a rare glimpse inside the hospital’s gender clinic.
Last week, a jury ordered Boston Children’s Hospital to pay a former employee nearly $2 million after it determined the hospital retaliated against her by firing her after she filed a gender discrimination lawsuit.
According to court documents, the hospital must now pay $1,872,386.27 to Amy Tishelman, a psychologist and leader in youth gender medicine and former research director at the clinic.
The jury did not find that Boston Children’s discriminated against Tishelman.
“While I’m disappointed the jury did not find there was sufficient evidence of discrimination, the most troubling part of this ordeal has always been how the hospital responded to my good faith concerns,” Tishelman said in a statement shared with The Boston Globe. “I went to HR asking for help, not a hand out, and instead of receiving support I was demeaned, ostracized and eventually fired on false and pretextual grounds.”
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The trial attracted attention last month after it gave a rare view into the inner workings of the country’s most influential pediatric gender clinic. Testimony from the practitioners at the clinic revealed an internal dispute over the screening of patients for medical gender transitions.
Court documents said the hospital employed Tishelman in various capacities for nearly 30 years.
Tishelman sued Boston Children’s in 2020 in Suffolk Superior Court, alleging she was being discriminated against based on her sex and age. After complaining to HR, she says in court documents that no action was taken to remedy the situation.
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After the lawsuit, the hospital fired her the following year for allegedly violating patient privacy rules related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
Boston Children’s denied Tishelman’s allegations in court documents and said it treated her “fairly” throughout her employment. The hospital said it stopped scheduling Tishelman in a particular clinic because she was “delinquent in her patient notes.”
The hospital claims that it terminated Tishelman after an investigation showed she violated HIPAA by viewing hundreds of patient records she did not have the authority to view “for personal gain.”
According to the complaint, Tishelman was pressured to file late patient evaluation reports, which she did not have time to complete during working hours due to her busy work schedule. She even sent a resignation letter, knowing she could not meet the deadline. However, she was reinstated and given longer to complete the paperwork.
In court, The Boston Globe reported that Tishelman accessed the patient records of another psychologist to demonstrate she wasn’t the only one with late reports. The hospital said that was an illegitimate reason to access patient records.
Boston Children’s Hospital says it does not comment on litigation.
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Tishelman’s lawyer, Patrick Hannon, argued that his client had broad permission to access records.
“The evidence presented to the jury showed this was not about complying with HIPAA or complying with hospital policy,” Hannon told the Globe. “This was about punishing someone for complaining.”
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