Attorney Lawrance Bohm
SACRAMENTO - A San Diego psychologist was awarded nearly $17 million in a recent jury trial over the plaintiff’s allegation that she was retaliated against, fired and defamed by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials.
A jury empaneled by the Sacramento County Superior Court awarded Dr. Beth Fischgrund, a former clinician at the state prison in Monterey County, $2.8 million in economic damages for lost earnings; non-economic damages of more than $11 million; and damages related to defamation of reputation, shame and hurt feelings of $3 million, according to the jury verdict form signed on Oct. 31.
Fischgrund’s lawsuit relates to events that began in 2017, when she began work at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP). The jury found that Fischgrund had reported concerns about unsafe work environments, conditions that threatened the safety of employees, staff retaliatory actions and an institutional failure to follow proper procedures against an inmate who threatened her. Jurors also found that prison staff had spread false rumors about her that damaged Fischgrund’s reputation..
“Dr. Fischgrund maintained a full caseload, led therapy groups, evaluated inmates for suicidal and homicidal ideation, collaborated with SVSP’s interdisciplinary treatment teams, and trained and mentored staff,” the plaintiff alleged in her complaint. “CDCR scheduled Dr. Fischgrund’s work hours and duties and the cases that she maintained throughout her time at SVSP.”
The plaintiff worked in the prison’s A-yard, which was a protective custody area providing extra security to inmates because they were deemed unsafe in regular prison yards, given that most of the inmates in the A-yard had committed violent offenses against women or children, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleged that a colleague made improper comments to the plaintiff during her employment, including sexual innuendos and inappropriate jokes, and that prison officials were guilty of violating the California Whistleblower Protection Act by retaliating against Fischgrund. In addition, the plaintiff alleged harassment, disability discrimination, sex discrimination, state Labor Code violations and civil rights violations.
Fischgrund, who worked at the prison under a contract from the employment agency Novo Talent, was fired in July of 2019, according to the lawsuit.
“Dr. Fischgrund received a call from the owner of Novo Talent, Amir Khedmatian, who told her that she had been fired for ‘misconduct,’” the lawsuit stated.
The CDCR has yet to comment on whether the jury’s verdict would be appealed. An attorney representing Fischgrund, Lawrence Bohm of the Bohm Law Group Inc., said in a statement emailed to the Southern California Record that the verdict was a major loss for the state because prison officials failed to take appropriate actions to protect themselves from employment-related litigation risks.
"This was a complete and total victory, vindication and validation of Dr. Fischgrund,” he said. “The CDCR actually sided with a spouse abusing, incarcerated child molester named Juan Negrete currently in a San Diego prison, over a Harvard prison psychologist, and, as a result, lost $16.9 million.”
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jill Talley also awarded the plaintiff legal “costs and disbursements incurred in this action.”