Jury Awards Ex-UCLA Doctor $13M In Gender, Age Bias Trial
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- A former UCLA oncologist was awarded $13 million Thursday by a superior court jury that found her complaints about disparate treatment due to her gender were valid.
The jury, however, did not find in the doctor's favor on a complaints of age bias. She is now 63.
Dr. Lauren Pinter-Brown spent 10 years (2005-2015) as a researcher in the school's lymphoma program. She claimed she was subjected to harsher comments and unequal treatment as compared to her male colleagues.
She filed her lawsuit in 2016.
The jury deliberated over two days and found in favor of gender bias and retaliation for complaining about the problem. The jury awarded her just over $3 million for economic damages and $10 million for non-economic damages, according to Law360.com.
Pinter-Brown was 61 when she filed her complaint and said for much of her tenure in the department, the only female.
Her suit alleged that she was often called "a diva" or "angry woman" and even told "everyone hates you."
Pinter-Brown's suit also said during an argument with a male colleague in 2011, she even feared for her safety.
She joined UC Irvine Health in Dec. 2015.
Law360.com said the UCLA Health and David Geffen School of Medicine issued a statement post-verdict that said they were disappointed in the jury's verdict and considering all available options.
The statement read in part, "Ensuring a respectful and inclusive is essential to the research and education carried out at UCLA's medical school. Discrimination based on gender, race or any other basis is a violation of both the law and university policy and a betrayal of UCLA values as a community."
