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For the second time in as many years, the San Benito Health Care District has been sued for $100 million by a former Hazel Hawkins Hospital doctor. This time, it’s Dr. Paul Rohart, who provided services in the hospital’s emergency department and is alleging retaliation and wrongful termination.
Rohart filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court of Northern California on Oct. 9. According to the lawsuit, the alleged retaliation occurred after Rohart raised concerns over two patient deaths in the hospital’s emergency department in 2025.
Rohart also alleges the district violated his First Amendment rights by being retaliated against for communicating violations of California safety laws. He is seeking compensation for damages and lost pay, according to the lawsuit.
According to court records, a case management conference is scheduled for Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at the district courthouse in San Jose.
The health care district is already facing a separate, ongoing lawsuit filed in the San Benito County Superior Court by former board member and former Hazel Hawkins surgeon Dr. Nick Gabriel in December 2025.
Rohart alleges that the district retaliated against him and terminated and/or did not renew his contract because he raised concerns about two instances in which he said two patients “expired” after the hospital failed to transfer them to a facility capable of providing more sophisticated care.
According to Rohart, on two occasions in 2025 he determined that a patient in the Emergency Department required “care beyond the capabilities available at the Hazel Hawkins Hospital.”
Instead of hospital officials transferring the patients to another facility as he ordered, Rohart said the patients were placed in a wheelchair and sat in the hallway until they died.
“Dr. Rohart reported, complained about, and/or otherwise raised concerns regarding the district’s failure to act on the transfer orders and the resulting risks to emergency patients, including through reports, complaints and communications,” the lawsuit states.
BenitoLink requested copies of Rohart’s employment contract and nonrenewal letter from the district but Clerk of the Board Laura Garcia said the district does not have those documents.
“Dr. Rohart was never contracted with Hazel Hawkins,” Garcia said.
Rohart’s attorney, Lawrence Daniels, did not immediately respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment or provide a copy of Rohart’s contract with the district.
Neither Hazel Hawkins Marketing and Public Relations Manager Erika Yanez nor Director of Marketing and Community Relations Frankie Gallagher immediately responded to BenitoLink’s request for comment.
The lawsuit names the district, CEO Mary Casillas and directors Bill Johnson, Josie Sanchez and Devon Pack. It did not name Director Victoria Angelo.
It’s unclear how long Dr. Rohart had been providing services at Hazel Hawkins and the lawsuit does not include those details.
The health care district board considered in a March 26 closed session the complaint filed by Rohart which, according to the meeting agenda, was received by the district on March 6.
In the lawsuit, Rohart also includes claims that don’t appear to be directly linked to his allegations. In addition to making personal attacks on board members Johnson and Pack, he alleges that the board implemented an “illegal” attendance policy in its effort to remove Gabriel from the board. He also alleges that the district filed for bankruptcy to “nullify” the nurses’ union contract in order to sell the hospital to Michigan-based Insight Health.
He goes on to claim that district officials encouraged three candidates to run for the Zone 4 board seat in the Nov. 3 election to dilute support for a fourth candidate.
Gabriel, in his lawsuit, claims the district used a situation at the 2024 San Benito County Fair in which he was denied parking access in the vendor parking area to not renew his contract.
Gabriel was ousted from the health care district board in July 2026 for allegedly violating district policy on repeated absences from board meetings.
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