ROCHELLE PARK, N.J., Aug. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A veteran New Jersey physician who spent years providing specialized eye care to premature infants at Hackensack University Medical Center has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was pushed out of his position because of his age after being told by the chair of the hospital’s ophthalmology department that “we have to get younger.”
The lawsuit was filed in New Jersey Superior Court in Bergen County by The Epstein Law Firm, P.A., on behalf of Joseph D. Napolitano, M.D., against Hackensack Meridian Health Medical Group–Specialty Care, P.C., Hackensack University Medical Center and Simeon Lauer, M.D. The complaint alleges age discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, along with breach of contract and other claims.
Dr. Napolitano, 70, is a board-certified ophthalmologist who has practiced medicine in New Jersey for decades and has held numerous clinical and academic appointments. His work at Hackensack included screening premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit for retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, a potentially blinding condition requiring specialized training and experience.
According to the complaint, Dr. Napolitano worked in Hackensack University Medical Center’s NICU beginning around 2006, initially as an independent contractor and later as an employee.
The lawsuit alleges that the circumstances surrounding the end of that relationship were strikingly direct.
On April 23, 2025, Dr. Napolitano was at Hackensack University Medical Center visiting his brother, who was critically ill with pancreatic cancer and nearing the end of his life. According to the complaint, Dr. Lauer called Dr. Napolitano and told him there was “more bad news”: his employment would eventually be terminated.
When Dr. Napolitano asked why, the lawsuit alleges, Lauer responded: “we have to get younger and you and I are not the future of the department.” Dr. Napolitano was also allegedly told that a new person would be coming aboard and that the termination would occur by September.
“This case presents an allegation of age discrimination in unusually stark terms,” said Barry D. Epstein, Esq., trial counsel for Dr. Napolitano. “Our client devoted years of his professional life to caring for some of the hospital’s most vulnerable patients. The complaint alleges that when the hospital decided it wanted to move on, he was specifically told that it needed to ‘get younger.’ New Jersey’s protections against age discrimination exist precisely because an employee’s experience and years of service cannot lawfully be turned into a reason to discard that employee.”
The complaint alleges that the hospital ultimately replaced Dr. Napolitano with a substantially younger physician. It further alleges that Dr. Napolitano had been satisfactorily performing his duties and that his age was the reason for the adverse employment decision.
The lawsuit also raises questions about the manner in which Dr. Napolitano’s employment ended.
Under his employment agreement, according to the complaint, termination without cause required at least 90 days’ advance written notice and entitled him to compensation during that period. Dr. Napolitano alleges that he never received that notice.
Instead, after continuing to work through the first week of September 2025, he allegedly received an email from the hospital’s medical staff credentialing office informing him that he was no longer employed and would need to obtain his own malpractice insurance if he wished to maintain hospital privileges. According to the complaint, that communication came as a surprise because no formal 90-day termination notice had been provided.
The complaint asserts five counts, including age discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, promissory estoppel, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, breach of contract, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The emotional-distress claim specifically points to the timing of the April telephone call while Dr. Napolitano was visiting his dying brother, as well as the later manner in which he learned his employment had ended.
Co-counsel on the case from The Epstein Law Firm, George E. Morton III, Esq., added, “Experienced professionals should not reach a point in their careers where their job is at jeopardy simply because of their age.”
Dr. Napolitano is seeking damages, including economic losses and emotional-distress damages, as well as punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief available under New Jersey law. He has demanded a jury trial.
The case, Joseph D. Napolitano, M.D. v. Hackensack Meridian Health Medical Group–Specialty Care, P.C., et al., Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County, Docket No. BER-L-7863-25, is currently in the paper discovery phase, with depositions being scheduled. Discovery in the matter has been subject to a confidential understanding between the parties.
Dr. Napolitano is seeking damages, including economic losses and emotional-distress damages, as well as punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief available under New Jersey law. He has demanded a jury trial.
About The Epstein Law Firm, P.A.
Based in Rochelle Park, NJ, The Epstein Law Firm represents individuals and families injured in motor vehicle crashes, construction accidents, premises liability incidents, and other serious injury matters. The firm is recognized statewide for its litigation results and commitment to client advocacy.
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