A hospital conglomerate is under fire for threatening to slap a Maine teen and his mom with a lawsuit after he published that he had safety concerns for patients.
Samson Cournane, 15, started a Change.org petition after his mother, a former employee at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, was terminated in 2022.
Cournane and his mom, Anne Yered - a pediatric intensive care doctor - claim she was wrongfully terminated for voicing her concerns about the safety of kids.
Among the concerns raised were improper patient-to-hospital staff ratios and a doctor who allegedly only did one year of a three-year critical care fellowship.
'Healthcare workers shouldn't be working in a culture of fear and silence when it comes to raising questions about patient safety,' the petition states.
In response, hospital officials sent Yered a letter threatening legal action and stating they believe it was her who published the concerns as a way to get back at them.
'Why are they taking it out on my mom instead of me,' Samson said.
Samson Cournane, 15, started a Change.org petition after his mother, a former employee at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, was terminated in 2022
This is Eastern Maine Medical Center where Dr. Anne Yered, Samson's mom, worked before she was terminated in June 2022
Samson's father, John Cournane, holds a photo of himself with his wife - Dr. Anne Yered - and his son as a baby
Samson launched his Change.org petition - labeled 'Patient Safety in Maine Matters' -in September 2022 and addressed it to U.S. Rep. Jared Golden.
According to the petition, Dr. Yered worked at Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) through 2022 and was fired after she brought up pediatric-patient safety concerns.
The 15-year-old college junior wrote that despite being the second largest hospital in the state, EMMC has 'countless online negative patient experiences.'
While researching before launching his petition, he said he discovered a myriad of issues including the fact that the hospital had poor patient safety ratings.
Samson cited numerous medical journals and articles in his published letter before addressing the professional at the center of the issue, Dr. Yered.
Beginning in 2020, she raised multiple concerns with administrators, including that a fellow critical care pediatrician was unqualified to be providing care.
The unnamed doctor allegedly only did one year of an important fellowship that would properly arm them for dealing with critical condition patients.
'Critically ill children have died due to unqualified pediatric critical care physicians taking care of critically ill children in other hospitals in the United States,' the teen wrote, voicing his concerns.
After Dr. Yered started mentioning her worries to administrators, she faced a barrage of harassment that included a senior manager allegedly 'climbing through the woods in her backyard to confront her.'
In his petition, Samson alleged a similar incident happened to another physician at the hospital where the same manager snuck into her backyard as well.
As of August 31, the petition had reached nearly 1,000 signatures.
Samson launched his Change.org petition - labeled 'Patient Safety in Maine Matters' -in September 2022 and addressed it to U.S. Rep. Jared Golden
'Why are they taking it out on my mom instead of me,' Samson asked in an interview
After posting the petition, Northern Light Health reportedly reached out to Yered and alleged that it was her - rather than Cournane - who posted the petition.
Samson also wrote a letter to the editor of the University of Maine's student newspaper, Maine Campus Media, addressing his concerns.
According to a free speech advocacy group representing Samson, the hospital conglomerate claimed Yered ghost wrote the statements in the petition.
They believe it was part of a 'scheme' to get back at her former employer.
In January, Yered filed a wrongful termination letter against EMMC, which was returned in April by a 'meritless' counterclaim alleging defamation.
'This case is about a physician who was so angry about her termination from employment that she hatched a scheme to get back at her former employer by posting malicious, false, and defamatory statements about a former colleague harming patients on the internet, posing as or ghost writing for her teenage son,' laywers for the hospital stated in their counterclaim.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said the hospital made the assertations without with 'zero evidence' to back up the claims.
'They blamed his mom, saying that she must have ghostwritten everything because he was only 14 at the time,' FIRE senior attorney Jay Diaz said.
'But obviously, Samson is a very capable young person. He's 15 and already a junior in college. He did this work, and it was his passion project,' the attorney continued.
'It felt like they were trying to undermine my credibility,' Cournane said. 'Just because of my age being 15 doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm saying.'
'I fully believe in what I'm doing, and this just makes me want to continue with my advocacy,' the boy said in an interview.
Samson (pictured outside the hospital where his mom previously worked) is a junior in college at just 15-years-old
Samson also wrote a letter to the editor of the University of Maine's student newspaper, Maine Campus Media, addressing his concerns
In spite of the counterclaimed what they say is a blatant attempt to silence them, Samson says he has every right to speak his mind.
'Young people have free speech rights just like everyone else,' said Samson. 'I have the right to stand up and speak my mind without being bullied into silence.'
'It's sad to see the hospital try to stop me from talking about important things,' Cournane told Fox News in a recent interview.
'Especially when it's trying to improve their own health care system and let them know more about the safety of the people that are there and the patients,' he said.
Neither side has officially filed a lawsuit yet.
Last week, FIRE sent a letter to the massive hospital system and urged them to 'immediately retract and disavow their threat of a lawsuit.'
The free speech advocacy group argues that Samson's petition and words are protected by the Constitution and state law.
Diaz stated that he believes the threat to be pointless and said it's a classic example of a strategic lawsuit against public participation — or 'SLAPP' suit.
Maine is one of 30 states to protect speakers by enacting anti-SLAPP laws.
'In a SLAPP suit, an individual or entity drags a speaker into an expensive court proceeding to shut them up,' explained Diaz.
'They blamed his mom, saying that she must have ghostwritten everything because he was only 14 at the time,' FIRE senior attorney Jay Diaz said.
Samson stands next to his father, John Cournane, in a photo shared by FIRE
SLAPP suits can be extremely costly for individuals attempting to fight against a massive corporation and are often effective in shutting down lawsuits.
'Our client may be named Samson, but this is a case of David vs. Goliath,' said FIRE attorney James Jordan.
'If a powerful corporation would threaten to sue a teenager into silence, they'll do it to anyone,' he continued.
Samson said he has no plans to stop talking about his concerns and that he is focused on improving the healthcare system in general.
DailyMail.com reached out to Northern Light Health for comment and received a lengthy response in which they denied any wrongdoing.
Senior Vice President of Communications Suzanne Spruce wrote that claimed the statements made against their hospital are 'factually unsupported and demonstrably false.'
'Patient safety is EMMC's first priority. EMMC physicians and staff are highly trained, compassionate, and provide excellent, safe care to patients,' she wrote.
'EMMC understands that every day patients place their trust in EMMC, and EMMC takes this responsibility very seriously,' the email continued.
FULL EMAIL FROM NORTHERN LIGHT HEALTH TO DAILYMAIL.COM
It is important to understand the background of this issue. Anne Yered, MD has threatened suit against Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical relating to her separation from employment. While EMMC cannot comment on the threatened suit or the reasons for Dr. Yered's separation, we strongly deny any suggestion or allegation that Dr. Yered was terminated because she reported or raised safety-related concerns.
Through chance, EMMC became aware that Dr. Yered's minor son, who has a different last name than Dr. Yered, contacted EMMC personnel attempting to speak with them regarding topics that included issues germane to his mother's threatened claims, without disclosing his connection to his mother. Thereafter, an individual purporting to be the minor son, but whom EMMC reasonably believed to be Dr. Yered or acting at Dr. Yered's direction, published a series of false and malicious statements about one of our longest tenured, highly skilled, dedicated, and competent physicians. EMMC thereafter placed Dr. Yered on notice that EMMC was reserving its right to bring a counterclaim against her for these defamatory statements, which have harmed EMMC and the physician about whom these statements were made. At no time has EMMC threatened to assert a claim against Dr. Yered's minor son.
EMMC supports individuals' rights to speak out in any forum about issues of public concern, including healthcare and patient safety. That right is not without limit, however. Factually unsupported and demonstrably false assertions that are designed to unfairly undermine the public's trust and that cause actual harm, like those at issue here, may be challenged through legal means. EMMC has an obligation to ensure that statements bearing upon the mission of caring for the region's most vulnerable population are accurate and truthful.
Patient safety is EMMC's first priority. EMMC physicians and staff are highly trained, compassionate, and provide excellent, safe care to patients. EMMC understands that every day patients place their trust in EMMC, and EMMC takes this responsibility very seriously. EMMC is accredited by the Joint Commission, an independent national surveyor that ensures that EMMC and other hospitals are providing the best quality care to patients. Furthermore, EMMC regularly undergoes evaluation by the State and other Federal agencies to ensure all safety standards are met and upheld In addition, EMMC recently earned the top 'A' Hospital Safety Score from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit that evaluates U.S. hospitals on preventable errors, infections and more. Patients deserve the safest environment for their care and EMMC is continually working to ensure that standard is met.
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