Landmark Verdict Awards Over $510 Million to Saint Mary’s Health Network

Jury verdict finds UHS liable for fraud, malice, oppression, undermining patient care

RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a historic decision with national implications for healthcare, a Washoe County jury awarded Saint Mary’s Health Network, affiliate of Prime Healthcare, over $510 million in damages, including punitive damages, after finding Universal Health Services of Delaware, Inc. (UHS) and affiliated defendants liable for fraud, malice, and oppression in a coordinated scheme against Saint Mary’s Health Network during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The jury heard evidence that UHS orchestrated a scheme beginning in 2019 to cripple the health network by soliciting physicians and senior leaders, stealing trade secrets, and triggering a mass resignation that disrupted patient care and destroyed Saint Mary’s healthcare ecosystem.

Jurors unanimously found that UHS and its agents, including former Saint Mary’s leaders who sabotaged the network from within, engaged in deliberate and unlawful acts to:

• Illegally solicit Saint Mary’s physicians and employees
• Orchestrate a mass resignation event
• Breach contracts and duties of loyalty to Saint Mary’s
• Disrupt patient care and relationships

Evidence included internal emails and text messages revealing that UHS executives plotted to dismantle Saint Mary’s, a 117-year-old community institution rescued from closure by Prime Healthcare in 2012. The results of these actions nearly destabilized the hospital. Proof that UHS agents destroyed secret text messages further supported the jury’s finding of clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice, and oppression, leading to an award of $510 million in punitive damages against UHS.

“This case is about more than one hospital, it is about accountability and integrity in American healthcare, and we commend the judicial system for bringing truth to light,” said Prem Reddy, M.D., Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Prime Healthcare. “This verdict is a victory for patients and communities, affirming that accountability and integrity are the foundation of healthcare.”

“This verdict delivers a resounding message for all of healthcare: integrity and compassion must guide every decision we make,” said Sunny Bhatia, M.D., President of Prime Healthcare. “For over 117 years, Saint Mary’s has been a trusted institution. Patients and communities should always be at the heart of medicine, and this verdict reinforces that trust and care must never be compromised.”

“This verdict affirms that the weaponization of corporate power, betrayal of physician trust, theft of proprietary information, and reckless endangerment of patients will not be tolerated,” added Derrick Glum, MBA, FACHE, CEO of Saint Mary’s Health Network. “The verdict restores justice and allows our hospital’s mission to serve our community with compassion and dignity to endure.”

This landmark $510 million jury verdict is one of the largest ever awarded in a healthcare case. It underscores the seriousness of the misconduct and stands as a powerful reminder that communities, patients, and providers must be protected from corporate schemes that compromise care. Saint Mary’s Health Network, with Prime Healthcare, remain steadfast in their mission to provide compassionate, high-quality healthcare and to uphold the trust that has guided its service for more than a century.

About Saint Mary’s Health Network

As a long-standing community partner with a 118-year history, Saint Mary’s Health Network offers inpatient, outpatient, ancillary, and wellness services. Nationally recognized and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), as well as having been named one of the Top 100 Hospitals by Fortune/PINC AI and the only Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient in northern Nevada, Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center is a 352-bed acute care hospital offering a robust line of inpatient, outpatient and ancillary services including the region’s first Geriatric Accredited Emergency Department (GEDA), top-rated surgical and orthopedic services, an award-winning Cardiology program, and so much more. The health system, a member of Prime Healthcare, also operates a fully integrated Medical Group, urgent care clinics, freestanding imaging, lab, and primary care offices. For more information, visit www.SaintMarysReno.com.