Health Department whistleblower sues for retaliation, termination in Pap smear crisis

A longtime former county health department employee who says he blew the whistle on a 2016 Pap smear crisis that left at least 300 women unaware of abnormal test results has filed a lawsuit against Mecklenburg County for wrongful termination and retaliation.

Devallchio Adams, a Mecklenburg County Health Department plebotomist for 20 years, repeatedly spoke out to his superiors, the county commissioners and manager, and the media about a troubling pattern of unsafe lab conditions, including cross-contamination of specimens, faulty pregnancy tests, and lack of proper medical training among technicians, according to the lawsuit.

That directly harmed Health Department patients, many of whom are low-income and minority residents, without health insurance, according to the lawsuit.

“The health and safety crises Plaintiff reported included matters of serious health consequences for patients who were not being informed of their test results for: Pap smears, which test for cervical cancer; and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and chlamydia,” the lawsuit reads.

Health and county leadership knew Adams was the whistleblower, the lawsuit emphasizes, in the Pap smear crisis that began to unfold publicly in early 2017.

The debacle ensnared multiple clinical division employees and former Mecklenburg County Health Director Marcus Plescia, who resigned in August 2017 amid scrutiny over the department’s lapses in management.

Adams is suing Mecklenburg County for violating the First Amendment, which the lawsuit argues guaranteed him the right to speak freely about “matters of life and death for patients.” The suit also alleges the county violated North Carolina’s Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act.

A Mecklenburg County spokesman refused comment, saying the county has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.

The lawsuit states Adams was the target of bullying and intimidation after he tried for years to remedy systemic failures that also entailed false-positive chlamydia test results, mislabeled blood and urine samples, and overflowing bio-hazard bins in the county labs. Oftentimes, the lawsuit alleges, Adams’ emails and meeting requests with health and county leaders went unanswered.

In March 2018, as Adams was poised to air additional public safety and compliance complaints to the media, current county Health Director Alma “Gibbie” Harris requested they have a face-to-face meeting.

Harris wouldn’t allow Adams to invite a neutral third-party person and several county commissioners to their meeting, the lawsuit alleges. When Adams said he wouldn’t attend, noting it conflicted with an important training session, Harris said “it was not an optional meeting.”

Adams was “very concerned because he was being told to meet with the same people whom he complained were actively retaliating against him, who continued to ignore or cover up the health and safety issues, and who failed to take corrective action to address these problems,” the lawsuit reads. “This was a conflict of interest.”

Days later, the county suspended Adams for “insubordination” and “failing to show respect and courtesy for others.” He was fired in April 2018 — and a Health Department manager told Adams, by phone, that the action was retaliatory, according to the lawsuit.

Adams appealed the decision to an Employee Review Panel, knowing other people hadn’t been fired for what he viewed as more serious workplace infractions, such as releasing confidential patient information to the media, according to the lawsuit.

“Although the panel believes an alternative approach could have been taken to address Mr. Adams’ action, based on findings presented, the termination is affirmed and in line with County policy,” the June 2018 panel decision reads, according to the lawsuit.

Adams was weeks — potentially, only days — away from his pension vesting, according to the lawsuit.

He now wants to return to his position, or an equivalent role, at the Health Department, with reinstatement of full fringe benefits and compensation for lost wages, among other demands outlined in the lawsuit. He’s also suing for injunctive relief to “deter similar misconduct in the future” and for damages tied to emotional distress.