Jury sides with blood lab technician in New Jersey whistleblower case

A New Jersey Superior Court jury has awarded a former Bayonne Medical Center hematology technician more than $2.1 million under the state’s whistleblower law. The suit alleged that the plaintiff was disciplined and ultimately fired about a month after he complained that his supervisor did not have the proper credentials and created a schedule in which some shifts had no technicians capable of performing certain blood-screening tests.

Bayonne Medical Center had contended that the technician was fired for performance-related reasons. The state investigated and determined that the supervisor was not qualified, and she was transferred out of her position, according to the hospital. Bayonne Medical Center is reportedly terminating an agreement with a lab management company that furnished supervisors, including the supervisor cited in the case. Bayonne Medical Center will appeal the court decision, according to a hospital spokeswoman.