U.S. ex rel. Conrad v. Rochester Regional Health
U.S. ex rel. Conrad v. Rochester Regional Health is a case before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York involving a physician assistant terminated by her employer for blowing the whistle on failures to comply with Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reporting requirements. The case number is 1:23-cv-00438-JLS-JJM.
Warner Mendenhall of Mendenhall Law Group and Jeremy Friedman represent the plaintiff, Deborah Conrad, against Rochester Regional Health and United Memorial Medical Center, the defendants.[1]
History
Deborah Conrad worked as a physician assistant for 21 years. In October 2021, she was fired from Rochester Regional Health for allegedly spreading "vaccine misinformation" and "over-reporting" adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines to VAERS.[2] She then retained attorney Warner Mendenhall, and filed a lawsuit against her former employer on May 17, 2023, seeking damages, including back pay and civil penalties in violation of the False Claims Act of 1863.[3]
Decision
On June 11, 2025, District Court Judge John Sinatra denied the defendants' motion to dismiss the case. The court found that Rochester Regional Health "had a material obligation to report serious adverse events to VAERS under their Provider Agreement with the CDC"; "the hospital's failure to report while continuing to seek federal reimbursement was potential fraud against the government;" the plaintiff's "detailed allegations were enough to meet the strict legal standards for fraud claims, even without access to internal billing records;" and that "she was probably fired for trying to expose the hospital's failure to report adverse events," allowing her retaliation claim against the hospital to go forward to discovery.[4]
Aftermath
Following the decision, plaintiff's attorney Warner Mendenhall stated that "this decision establishes critical legal precedents." Specifically, that "VAERS reporting is not optional," "hospitals can be held accountable," and "whistleblowers are protected." He also highlighted the particular utility of the False Claims Act of 1863 in holding institutions accountable for misconduct related to the declared COVID-19 pandemic.[4:1]
Court records
- May 17, 2023: Complaint
- November 1, 2024: First Amended Complaint
- Exhibit 24: COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement
- June 11, 2025: District Court Decision
External links
Mendenhall, W. (2025, March 10). Federal Court VAERS argument 3-11-2025. Covid Lawcast; Substack. https://www.covidlawcast.com/p/federal-court-vaers-argument-3-11 ↩︎
Home. Deb Conrad, Whistleblower. Retrieved July 16, 2025, from https://web.archive.org/web/20250716112156/https://iamdebconrad.com/ ↩︎
U.S. ex rel. Conrad v. Rochester Regional Health - Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial. (2023, May 17). United States District Court for the Western District of New York. https://web.archive.org/web/20240522222129/https://prd-tsn-main-api.s3.amazonaws.com/article/3985f2e0-ec9e-4de7-9fb9-174aee879f75.pdf ↩︎
Mendenhall, W. (2025, July 17). COVID Accountability Victory: Court Rules in Favor of Healthcare Whistleblower. Covid Lawcast; Substack. https://www.covidlawcast.com/p/covid-accountability-victory-court ↩︎ ↩︎
Further reading
Warner Mendenhall
Warner Mendenhall