A dentist who worked at prisons in California recently filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state claiming she was unfairly fired after raising concerns that patients were neglected and permanent procedures were done without consent.
On January 3, Dr. Lindsay Hathaway filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) claiming retaliation and patient neglect. Hathaway is seeking unspecified damages and for her attorney fees to be covered, according to the lawsuit.
In November 2023, Hathaway was terminated. A letter from the California Department of Healthcare Services, which oversees the state's dental program, indicated that she was terminated after violating several CDCR policies, including falsifying time sheets, working for an independent nonprofit, and failing to disclose a personal relationship with the statewide dental director, Dr. Morton Rosenberg. Rosenberg retired before the findings of this investigation were given to Hathaway.
In 2018, Hathaway started working for the CDCR. Hathaway claimed that she began experiencing resistance from other dental staff after trying to improve care for the inmates. She alleges that support staff made defamatory accusations against her and created a hostile work environment. This environment led to a mental health practitioner placing Hathaway on medical leave in January 2020, according to the suit.
When she returned from leave, Hathaway was assigned to work in another position in which she analyzed clinical records and evaluated the standard of care provided to inmates. She claims she documented malpractice, including inappropriately prescribing medication and performing tooth extractions without patient consent, and that dentists neglected patients, leaving them unnecessarily in pain for weeks, according to the lawsuit.
In April 2022, someone sent an anonymous email to the CDCR, the governor's office, and the media accusing Hathaway and Rosenberg of having a sexual relationship. Photos that allegedly showed Rosenberg's car parked at Hathaway's condominium complex were included in the email. Hathaway denied these claims and asked the state's office of internal affairs (OIA) to investigate the email.
In November 2022, Hathaway learned the OIA was investigating her. Due to mental distress, she again was placed on medical leave.
In May 2023, the OIA investigation found that Hathaway had an inappropriate relationship with Rosenberg. The findings stated that photos of the pair's relationship were recovered on Rosenberg's work-issued phone, according to the suit.
Furthermore, the investigation claimed that Hathaway worked at a second job when she was on the clock at her state job and failed to get approval to work at the nonprofit that aimed to help stray cats, Cat Land CA.
Hathaway denied violating any of the policies but was fired in November 2023. She appealed her termination in April 2024, but the board denied it in July 2024. She claims Rosenberg was permitted to retire in early 2023 with his full pension and benefits, according to the suit.
