Employee sues hospital that fired her for reporting COVID vaccine injuries to VAERS

A physician assistant is suing a New York hospital system alleging it violated the federal False Claims Act by failing to complete mandatory reporting of COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Deborah Conrad worked at United Memorial Medical Center, part of Rochester Regional Health (RRH), until October 2021, when she said she was fired for reporting vaccine-related side effects.

Conrad filed the lawsuit in May 2023, but the complaint wasn’t closed and made public until February, TrialSiteNews reported last week.

She’s seeking reinstatement and back pay for herself, and civil penalties on behalf of the U.S. government.

Most importantly, Conrad told The Defender, she hopes the lawsuit will lead to changes in how vaccine adverse events are reported.

“How can anyone trust the vaccine program when doctors are not complying with the reporting requirements of the one system we have in place that is designed to assure us that these things are safe?” she asked.

“I want a policy change. I don’t care about the money, the justification. I want to have trust in the health care system,” Conrad said.

Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers can file a lawsuit on behalf of the federal government against an entity they claim benefited from taxpayer funds by defrauding the government.

False Claims Act cases are initially sealed while the government investigates the cases and decides whether to intervene and take the case or allow the whistleblower to proceed with the action.

The government decided not to intervene in the case. It is now closed and moving forward with Conrad as a “relative” testifying in court on behalf of the U.S. government.

She told The Defender that the evidence she is presenting to the court is substantial — she meticulously preserved every email, patient record, and recorded conversations with supervisors and other hospital staff.

United Memorial Medical Center, like all institutions in the United States that administered the COVID-19 vaccines, signed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement, according to the complaint.