BURLINGTON, Vt. — A recent verdict from a U.S. District Court jury concluded that Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center wrongfully terminated a former fertility doctor on discriminatory grounds. Dr. Misty Blanchette Porter, once employed at DHMC, was awarded $1.125 million in damages for her 2017 firing which violated Vermont’s laws against disability discrimination.
The compensation breakdown for Blanchette Porter includes $1 million for economic damages, including lost wages and additional expenses related to her lost employment. An additional $125,000 was awarded for non-economic injuries, acknowledging her mental distress and loss of life enjoyment stemming from the termination.
Despite this ruling in Blanchette Porter’s favor, the jury found Dartmouth Health not liable on five other charges it was facing. These instances included retaliation, wrongful discharge, and claims under the New Hampshire disability discrimination law, Americans with Disabilities Act, and whistleblower protection statutes. Dartmouth Health emphasized these outcomes as validating their organizational decisions and actions.
Spokeswoman Audra Burns conveyed that the health organization was gratified by much of the jury’s decisions, discounting any ill-intentions or unlawful practices on their part. The ruling additionally opens the door for Blanchette Porter’s attorneys to petition for a compensation of legal fees, the value of which will be decided later by U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle.
The proceedings drew to a close following a 14-day trial enriched by 20 testimonies, including that of Dartmouth Health CEO Joanne Conroy. The case scrutiny will linger as the possibility of an appeal by Dartmouth Health remains pending.
The trial revealed internal strains within DHMC around the time the reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) division was abruptly closed in May 2017. Blanchette Porter argued that her dismissal was essentially a retaliatory act for her vocal criticisms against certain medical practices at the division. The jury’s support for her claim under Vermont law attested to an interplay of her disability and her firing, thereby affirming her allegations of discrimination.
Regarding Blanchette Porter’s economic losses due to the firing, testimony by Vermont economist Robert Bancroft deliberate her damages near to $1.8 million, from which the jury slightly deviated.
At times, the trial’s focus shifted to reasons behind the disbanding of the REI program, pointing towards operational challenges like a significant nursing shortage. However, disclosed internal communications suggested further complexities involved, including personnel issues and leadership failures, contradicting more sanitized public statements by DHMC. The jury appeared to have considered these nuances deeply.
Since the closure of the REI program, which had been a pioneer in reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization in northern New England since the mid-1980s, local patients have faced increased travel to access similar care, heading to either the Burlington area or southern New Hampshire.
After her dismissal, Blanchette Porter continued her practice in reproductive endocrinology at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, joining the largest hospital’s staff in the state shortly after her separation from DHMC.
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