Photo: Getty Images
NATICK, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A former Natick firefighter is suing the town after he says he was fired for not falsifying medical records.
The lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court on behalf of Skylar Sarkisian in April said he was unceremoniously fired from his job as a firefighter for the town in late January.
Sarkisian was hired in February 2022, and the lawsuit said he worked with no complaints from the department until almost a year later. Sarkisian claims he ran afoul of fire station brass on January 18, when he says he refused to lie that a certain patient had been checked out to see if they needed advanced life support. He was fired in a meeting less than two weeks later, without explanation.
The lawsuit claims that the Natick Fire Department regularly forces EMTs to file false assessments like this, because the insurance payout is higher when the town claims it has given patients a higher level of care.
"We claim Skylar objected to this practice and he was terminated within just a couple of weeks...this was illegal retaliation," John Tocci, Sarkisian's lawyer, told WBZ NewsRadio.
Sarkisian's lawsuit also says that his firefighter unit was kept from responding to medical emergencies on the day he was let go, because Chief Jason Ferschke wanted him to be at the station so he could be fired.
In a responding court document from June, the town said it denies all of the allegations. The lawyer representing Natick, Karis North of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, said the town wouldn't comment on pending litigation. However, she say that it "strongly disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit, and intends to vigorously defend itself and Chief Ferschke."
Sarkisian is asking for $25,000 in lost wages and $100,000 in damages, as well as attorney's fees.
The case is in the middle of discovery as of July 5 and must be tried by July 2026.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok