A California physician has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, alleging retaliation after she raised concerns about unsafe COVID-19 practices at a contracted skilled nursing facility. Dr. Carmen Bujor submitted the complaint on December 23, 2024, in the Superior Court of California for Sacramento County against The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, and unnamed defendants.
Dr. Carmen Bujor's legal battle stems from her employment with Kaiser Permanente, where she worked from September 2002 until March 2022. During her tenure, Dr. Bujor served as a Senior Physician in the Elder Care Department and was responsible for overseeing patient care at various skilled nursing facilities in Sacramento County. Her allegations focus on RiverPointe Skilled Nursing Facility's mishandling of COVID-19 protocols in December 2020, which she claims led to preventable infections and at least one patient death.
In her complaint, Dr. Bujor recounts how RiverPointe created an inadequate "COVID wing" by merely using plastic sheets to separate infected patients from non-infected ones. This makeshift barrier failed to comply with CDC and state guidelines, leading to cross-contamination among vulnerable patients. Despite reporting these concerns to Kaiser’s SNF Quality Control Coordinator Juliette Acosta in January 2021, Dr. Bujor alleges that Kaiser continued sending patients to RiverPointe without addressing the issues.
The situation escalated when Dr. Bujor publicly challenged Kaiser's internal reports that downplayed the presence of COVID-positive patients at their contracted facilities during a February 3, 2021 meeting. Following this confrontation, she faced accusations of incompetence and fraudulent charting from her supervisors—claims she asserts were retaliatory actions intended to silence her whistleblowing efforts.
Dr. Bujor's legal claims are grounded in California Labor Code §1102.5 et seq., which protects employees from retaliation for reporting violations of law or public policy within their organizations—a statute commonly referred to as the "Whistle-Blower" statute. She argues that Kaiser's actions not only violated this statute but also aimed to chill further complaints about unsafe practices.
As part of her lawsuit, Dr. Bujor seeks damages for lost wages and benefits due to what she describes as wrongful termination and reputational harm inflicted by Kaiser's retaliatory conduct. Additionally, she requests punitive damages under California Civil Code §3294 for what she characterizes as malicious and oppressive behavior by Kaiser executives.
Representing Dr. Carmen Bujor are attorneys Mark P. Velez and Natalya Grunwald-Velez from The Velez Law Firm PC based in Roseville, California. The case is being heard by Judge A. Gray under Case No: 2acuwozaoFra.