$17M Awarded to SD Psychologist Fired After Retaliation Complaint at State Prison
The jury awarded $16.8 million after Dr. Fischgrund proved retaliation and defamation following her safety complaints about an inmate threat at Salinas Valley State Prison.
- A jury in Sacramento awarded Dr. Beth Fischgrund $16,800,000 last week over retaliation and defamation claims against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
- Fischgrund joined Salinas Valley State Prison through a hiring agency because the state uses contractors amid a shortage and a court order to improve mental health care in a high-security yard.
- Clinical staff alerted Fischgrund after the inmate who threatened Fischgrund made sexualized comments and violent threats; managers at Salinas Valley State Prison said the threat was not credible, and Fischgrund was fired two days after emailing CDCR headquarters about her safety.
- After her termination, prison officials at Salinas Valley State Prison allegedly blacklisted Dr. Beth Fischgrund and circulated her identifying pictures, derailing her employment and harming her mental health.
- The verdict, reached last week, capped Dr. Beth Fischgrund's six-year effort to contest her dismissal, and a CDCR spokesperson declined to comment or say if the state will appeal.
12 Articles
12 Articles
San Diego psychologist awarded almost $17 million in lawsuit against CDCR
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A jury has awarded nearly $17 million to a San Diego woman who alleged in a lawsuit that while working as a clinical psychologist at a California state prison she was retaliated and discriminated against, then later fired after she made complaints about her working conditions.Beth Fischgrund alleged in her lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that after she raised concerns regarding an inm…
$17M awarded to SD psychologist fired after retaliation complaint at state prison
A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation patch. (Photo courtesy of the department) A jury has awarded nearly $17 million to a San Diego woman who alleged in a lawsuit that while working as a clinical psychologist at a California state prison she was retaliated and discriminated against, then later fired after she made complaints about her working conditions. Beth Fischgrund alleged in her lawsuit against the California Departmen…
Jury awards former CA prison doctor $17 million in damages for retaliation case
A Sacramento County jury awarded a former prison doctor nearly $17 million in damages last week after she sued California’s correctional department in 2020 alleging she was retaliated against after raising safety concerns.
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