More lawsuits have been filed against hospital vaccine mandates, this time in North Louisiana.
The attorney at the helm of recent vaccine lawsuits Jimmy Faircloth announced more lawsuits filed on Tuesday.
Healthcare workers in Shreveport and Monroe filed lawsuits against Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport - St. Mary Medical Center, and Ochsner LSU Health Monroe.
According to Faircloth, the suits seek to enforce the affirmative right to refuse medical treatment under the Louisiana Constitution and the Louisiana Informed Consent Statute. The plaintiffs in both suits are requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to enjoin the Ochsner vaccine mandate.
“This fight is just beginning. Every day we receive more calls and emails from employees around the state who are being forced to decide between taking medicine they do not want and feeding their families,” Faircloth said in a release. “It’s an unlawful forced choice; not a free choice. Any doubt about the sincerity of Ochsner’s intentions was eliminated by the most recent threat to charge employees up to $2,600 per year for unvaccinated spouses. This threat has produced the opposite of its intended result; people are becoming angry at the bullying. We look forward to moving this important issue through the courts. At the end of the day, the fundamental right of individuals will prevail over a narrative that becomes more detached from science with each day.”
Two other lawsuits against hospitals in Lafayette have have been heard in court. At hearings last month, judges have ruled that vaccine mandates at Ochsner Lafayette General and Our Lady of Lourdes will remain in place.
Last week a judge ruled that the vaccine mandate at Lourdes will still be in place as it has not caused harm. The judge says the challenge could be revisited when and if someone loses their job due to the vaccine mandate.
For Ochsner Lafayette General, a district judge rejected a lawsuit challenging the hospital's vaccine mandate. Judge Thomas Frederick dismissed the case, saying that Ochsner is a private employer and found the mandate is not unlawful or unconstitutional.
Faircloth is the attorney for these lawsuits in Lafayette.
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