BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com
Dr. Brenda Pereda, ObGyn, has filed a complaint in First Judicial District Court against Dr. Justin Green alleging violation of the New Mexico Human Rights Act.
Court documents filed by attorneys Linda G. Hemphill and Leigh Messerer indicate that Pereda filed a charge of discrimination with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau and received an order of non-determination and that the District Court complaint has been filed within 90 days of the NMDRB order.
The District Court complaint alleges that during her employment with Los Alamos Physician Practices, (LAPP) at Los Alamos Medical Center, Dr. Pereda was subjected to conduct by Dr. Green “amounting to discrimination based on sex, race and national origin, and retaliation” as summarized in her charge of discrimination and supporting statement filed with NMHRB.
The complaint alleges that “the unlawful conduct” by Dr. Green has caused damage to Pereda in the form of “lost compensation and benefits, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and damage to her professional reputation in an amount to be proved at trial” and that she is entitled to an award of those damages as well as her reasonable attorney fees and costs.
In March 2022, Dr. Pereda, in an interview with the Los Alamos Reporter, made some serious allegations about her work environment at LAMC. See https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/03/22/physician-resigns-from-los-alamos-medical-center-claims-workplace-is-hostile-and-unsafe/
Dr. Pereda submitted her letter of resignation in March 2022 effective in June. At that time, a spokesperson for LAMC in response to a request for a comment on Pereda’s resignation, said that as a matter of practice, LAMC maintains strict confidentiality on all personnel and is unable to discuss the circumstances surrounding any employee or member of their medical staff.
“What I can tell you is we take allegations like this very seriously and always investigate them to the highest degree in accordance with hospital policies. A thorough investigation has taken place, and we are confident that these claims of a hostile and unsafe work environment are unfounded,” the spokesperson said. “We are diligent in our efforts to provide a safe and healthy environment for all employees and patients.”
No response to Dr. Pereda’s complaint has been recorded at this time.