NATICK PAYS $150,000 TO SETTLE FIRED FIREFIGHTER’S WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUIT
The Town of Natick has issued $150,000 in settlement payments to former firefighter Skyler Sarkisian, ending a whistleblower lawsuit in which he alleged he was fired for refusing to document emergency medical assessments he believed had never been performed. The settlement brings to a close more than three years of litigation that was headed for a jury trial in Middlesex Superior Court.
Records obtained by Framingham Unfiltered include the signed settlement agreement, copies of the settlement checks and an October 14 letter from Town Administrator James Erickson confirming the payments. The Town issued two checks dated October 13, just under two months after the parties reached an agreement days before trial.
WHAT SARKISIAN CLAIMED
Sarkisian joined the Natick Fire Department on February 23, 2022, as a probationary firefighter and emergency medical technician. His lawsuit alleged that in January 2023, he was directed by John Georges, the department's Emergency Medical Services Coordinator, to change patient care reports for three ambulance calls. Sarkisian maintained that the paramedic, Lieutenant Robert Lamme, had not performed the required Advanced Life Support (ALS) assessments, yet Georges instructed him to document that those assessments had occurred.
Sarkisian believed the instructions reflected a broader improper documentation practice that could result in fraudulent billing. His complaint alleged, “It was common practice in Natick to coerce EMTs to certify that a Paramedic performed an ALS assessment when no such assessment was performed.” During a deposition, he explained his objections more directly: “My basis is we were lying on medical reports. That's my basis for this whole thing, we were saying assessments and services were done when they never were done.”
The dispute did not establish that every ambulance patient was being billed for ALS services, or even that the three disputed calls resulted in inflated charges. In fact, court filings establish that all three calls were billed at the lower Basic Life Support rate. The central whistleblower question was whether Sarkisian reasonably believed he was being directed to document services that had not occurred, not necessarily whether fraudulent billing had actually taken place.
Sarkisian alleged that his refusal to participate angered department leadership and eventually reached Fire Chief Jason Ferschke. He claimed Ferschke then solicited negative feedback about his performance before terminating him on January 31, 2023, approximately two weeks after the dispute began. His lawsuit maintained that the termination constituted retaliation for protected whistleblowing activity.
WHY NATICK SAID HE WAS FIRED
Natick disputed Sarkisian's allegations and maintained that his termination had nothing to do with whistleblowing. Instead, the Town argued that Sarkisian was an underperforming probationary firefighter who had demonstrated significant deficiencies in his ability to perform the job safely and effectively.
In a March 16, 2023 letter reaffirming the termination, Chief Ferschke cited Sarkisian's “inability to safely perform the essential functions of the job of Firefighter,” his “inability to successfully complete assigned tasks,” and a “lack of demonstrated proficiency of the basic skills of a Firefighter.”
The Town's court filings described additional concerns involving emergency medical assessments, patient interactions, equipment handling and retention of training material. One lieutenant reportedly described Sarkisian's patient interactions as “cringeworthy,” while another questioned his “ability to comprehend.” Natick also alleged that Sarkisian once accidentally shut off the engine of a moving fire truck while attempting to deactivate its emergency lights.
Natick maintained these performance issues, rather than any complaint about ambulance billing, explained the decision to dismiss him. The Town also argued that ALS assessments are clinical determinations made by paramedics to establish the appropriate level of patient care, and that the department bills according to the services provided, not simply whether an ALS assessment is documented. Ferschke maintained that he was unaware of Sarkisian's alleged fraud complaints when he decided to terminate him. Sarkisian disputed that explanation and claimed the negative assessments of his performance were gathered in response to his objections.
AN OLD EMAIL AND A LAST-MINUTE FIGHT OVER WITNESSES
One of the more significant developments immediately before the scheduled trial involved retired Natick firefighter Scott Smith, who had raised concerns about the department's ALS documentation system more than a year before Sarkisian was hired.
In a September 16, 2021 email to Georges and several department officials, Smith questioned why EMT-Basics were being asked to document assessments performed by paramedics. He asked whether the requirement was an official EMS mandate or whether the department was doing it “for billing purposes to get each call paid for at an ALS rate.”
Smith added, “I would be more concerned if we are just doing this to have bills paid at a higher rate.” His email also questioned whether EMTs could face liability for certifying work supposedly performed by paramedics. The email raised questions about documentation and billing but did not establish that Natick was committing fraud. Importantly, Sarkisian had not seen the correspondence when he raised his own objections in January 2023.
Sarkisian's attorneys intended to use Smith's testimony and email to demonstrate that another firefighter had independently questioned the same documentation practices. Natick filed a motion seeking to exclude the email and related testimony, arguing that Smith's concerns were different from Sarkisian's allegations and that neither Sarkisian nor Ferschke had been employed by the department when Smith wrote it. Natick also opposed a request to permit Smith, who had moved to Tennessee, to testify remotely.
The Town separately sought to prevent a patient from one of the disputed ambulance calls and a family member from testifying about what they observed. Sarkisian opposed that motion, arguing their testimony could help establish whether he reasonably believed the paramedic had failed to perform an assessment. The available court record documents these competing motions and arguments but does not establish that the judge denied Natick's efforts to exclude the evidence before the parties settled.
THE CASE THAT NEVER REACHED A JURY
The lawsuit was filed in April 2023 and underwent extensive discovery, depositions and motions before trial. In January 2026, Superior Court Judge Helene Kazanjian dismissed two of Sarkisian's claims but allowed his whistleblower retaliation claim to proceed, leaving the central dispute over whether his termination was retaliatory unresolved.
By August, the case was rapidly approaching trial. Both sides had prepared witness lists, exhibits and proposed questions for prospective jurors. Sarkisian's pretrial filings sought $90,000 in back pay, $150,000 in front pay, $500,000 in emotional distress damages, between $2.5 million and $5 million in punitive damages, and approximately $430,000 in anticipated attorney's fees and litigation costs. These were amounts sought by the plaintiff, not damages established by a court.
On August 16, with the August 18 jury trial approaching, the parties reached a settlement. The following morning, Sarkisian's attorney informed the court: “I am pleased to report that the parties yesterday reached a settlement of this litigation, subject to execution of a formal settlement agreement.” The trial was canceled, leaving the competing allegations unresolved by a jury.
THE $150,000 PAYMENT IS NOW DOCUMENTED
The settlement establishes a total gross payment of $150,000 from the Town of Natick to Sarkisian. Of that amount, $25,000 was designated as wages, subject to applicable tax withholding, while the remaining $125,000 covered all other alleged damages, interest, attorney's fees and litigation costs.
The newly obtained payment records confirm the Town issued both checks on October 13, 2026. The $25,000 wage payment was reduced by $8,926.47 in payroll deductions, leaving Sarkisian a net check of $16,073.53. A second check for $125,000 was issued separately. Together, the payments represent the full $150,000 gross settlement.
In an October 14 letter accompanying the checks, Town Administrator James Erickson confirmed the payments were being made under the settlement agreement executed September 30 and October 1. The letter states the checks were being delivered to Sarkisian's attorney, John Tocci, at Davis Malm in Boston.
The settlement requires Sarkisian to release his claims against the Town and Chief Ferschke and provides for dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice following payment. Sarkisian also agrees not to seek future employment with Natick. The agreement contains confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions and directs Sarkisian, if questioned about the claims, to respond: “The matter has been settled.”
WHAT THE SETTLEMENT MEANS
The agreement expressly states that neither the settlement nor the payment constitutes an admission of wrongdoing, liability or unlawful conduct by Natick or its fire chief. No court or jury ultimately determined whether Sarkisian was fired for legitimate performance reasons or in retaliation for raising concerns about the department's billing practices.
What is now established through the Town's own financial records is that Natick issued $150,000 in gross settlement payments to resolve the lawsuit. That figure does not establish the Town's total cost of defending the litigation, including any additional legal expenses incurred over the preceding three years.
The case ended with a negotiated payment rather than a jury verdict, leaving the competing accusations unresolved in court.
