Fired for Pain: Veteran Nurse Sues Elevance Health
Priscilla Kamoi dedicated 17 years of her life to caring for patients within a massive healthcare conglomerate. As a licensed Registered Nurse at Anthem Blue Cross and Elevance Health, she demonstrated exemplary performance. She earned regular salary increases, annual bonuses, and consistently strong evaluations. She was a loyal, high-performing employee doing vital work.
Then, she became the patient.
Diagnosed with a debilitating and excruciating nerve condition, Kamoi suddenly found herself needing the very compassion and care she had spent nearly two decades providing to others. Instead of supporting a veteran employee, her employer responded with rigid quotas, disciplinary action, and ultimately, termination.
This stark juxtaposition between a health insurance company’s public mission and its internal treatment of a disabled worker sits at the heart of a major lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Represented by Helmer Friedman LLP and The Carr Law Group, Kamoi is holding Elevance Health accountable for disability discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
Understanding the Agony of Trigeminal Neuralgia
In late 2018, Kamoi developed severe trigeminal neuralgia. Often described by medical professionals as one of the most painful conditions known to humanity, it causes excruciating, electric-shock-like pain that radiates through the head and face.
For Kamoi, the attacks were sudden and unbearable. The condition made basic human functions—speaking, chewing, swallowing, and sleeping—incredibly difficult. She experienced numbness on the left side of her face and a progressive loss of hearing. Furthermore, the strong medications prescribed to manage the nerve pain carried heavy side effects, including severe fatigue, dizziness, and a slowness in thought processing.
The pain episodes completely derailed her daily routine. In a January 2023 email to her supervisors, Kamoi attached photographs of her face during a severe shock attack. She explained that the pain was so intense she could not manage to eat dinner until after 11:00 p.m., when the episode finally subsided.
A Shift in Corporate Culture
Despite her agonizing diagnosis, Kamoi returned from medical leave in 2019 ready to work. As a salaried Discharge Planner, she had the flexibility to take the time she needed to manage her symptoms while still performing her duties to an exceptional standard.
The corporate environment shifted drastically in mid-2022. Management announced that nurses would be transitioned to concurrent utilization review duties. This new role was far more complex, requiring nurses to review a patient’s vital signs, lab results, imaging, and overall treatment to determine the medical necessity of continued hospital stays.
More importantly, supervisor Monica Gagnon imposed strict new productivity standards. Nurses were now required to process 1.5 complex cases per hour and finish all work strictly within an 8-hour shift.
Knowing her medical condition and medication slowed her processing time, Kamoi proactively requested a reasonable accommodation. She asked to remain in her role as a Discharge Planner—a position she had mastered for years. Elevance Health management denied her request, forcing her into the highly regimented utilization review role.
A Timeline of Hostility and Denied Accommodations
What followed was a nearly three-year cycle of corporate hostility. Elevance Health continually penalized Kamoi for failing to meet aggressive hourly quotas, despite knowing her disability made those speeds impossible.
When Kamoi protested to her supervisor, Celia Zarate, that her medical condition prevented her from moving fast enough to meet the new targets, Zarate offered a callous response: “Then get another job.”
The pressure continued to mount. Kamoi received formal warnings for taking too much time to complete her work and for working unauthorized overtime to finish her cases. On May 16, 2024, Kamoi submitted a formal request for reasonable accommodations signed by her physician. The doctor explicitly stated that Kamoi could maintain her high-quality work but required breaks to recover from pain attacks and additional time to complete assignments.
Within two weeks, Elevance Health denied the medical request.
Analyzing the Legal Claims
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provides strict protections for workers facing medical challenges. Employers are legally obligated to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process to find effective accommodations for employees with known disabilities.
Kamoi’s complaint outlines clear violations of these fundamental rights. By denying flexible scheduling, refusing to adjust arbitrary productivity quotas, and punishing her for the physical limitations caused by her illness, the company failed in its legal duties.
Gregory Helmer of Helmer Friedman LLP emphasizes the core legal standard at play. “The law is clear: an employer cannot penalize a disabled employee for being disabled, nor can it refuse to provide simple accommodations—like a little extra time—and then use the employee’s resulting ‘performance deficiency’ as a pretext for dismissal. That is precisely what the law against disability discrimination seeks to prevent.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges severe retaliation. Under the California Labor Code and FEHA, employers cannot punish workers for requesting accommodations or reporting discriminatory behavior.
The Escalating Pattern of Retaliation
Kamoi filed complaints with the California Civil Rights Department in August and December 2024, detailing the company’s failure to accommodate her disability. Elevance Health’s response was swift and punitive.
In January 2025, management increased the productivity quotas again, demanding 2.5 cases per hour. Kamoi was subjected to verbal reprimands and targeted scrutiny. While her peers were evaluated on a standard monthly basis, Kamoi’s supervisor, Sharon Johnson, placed her under stringent weekly monitoring.
The harassment culminated on May 22, 2025. After badgering Kamoi over minor, split-second discrepancies in her timekeeping, Johnson summoned her to an abrupt telephone meeting. After 17 years of dedicated service to the company, Kamoi was fired immediately and told she was ineligible for rehire.
Broader Implications for Healthcare Workers
This case highlights a disturbing trend within corporate medicine. Healthcare workers are expected to operate with deep empathy and boundless endurance, yet they frequently face rigid, profit-driven metrics imposed by their employers.
James Carr of The Carr Law Group notes the underlying hypocrisy of the situation. “There is a cruel irony in a major health insurance company—one that profits from the healthcare system—showing such little regard for the health and dignity of a nurse who has dedicated 17 years to caring for its members.”
Employees facing major medical hurdles deserve a supportive environment, not a relentless campaign of disciplinary action designed to push them out the door. The law mandates that human dignity must take precedence over arbitrary hourly quotas.
Demanding Justice and Corporate Accountability
Priscilla Kamoi’s lawsuit against Elevance Health, Inc. (Case No. 26STCV08319) is a powerful step toward holding major corporations accountable for disability discrimination. No worker should be forced to choose between managing a debilitating illness and keeping their livelihood.
If you or a loved one has suffered from workplace discrimination, denied medical accommodations, or wrongful termination, you do not have to fight these battles alone. The legal team at Helmer Friedman LLP has over 20 years of experience advocating for justice and securing high-profile victories against massive corporations.
We offer free, confidential consultations to help you understand your legal rights and explore your options. Reach out today to partner with proven advocates who will fight tirelessly to protect your career and your dignity.
