George Paletta, MD, who spent about 20 years as the St. Louis Cardinals’ team physician, is suing Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy over $182,500 in unpaid compensation, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a summons filed July 23 in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
Dr. Paletta alleges Mercy withheld his paychecks without issuing a termination notice, beginning in January. Of the total he said he is owed, $25,500 is tied to his assignment to the Cardinals’ medical staff, a role his contract with Mercy entitled him to additional compensation for, according to the Post-Dispatch. Dr. Paletta served as the Cardinals’ head orthopedic surgeon on and off for about two decades, a run that ended in October 2025.
The suit adds to Dr. Paletta’s litigation history over the past two years. St. Louis-based Orthopedic Care Partners Management and Joint Health, doing business as Motion Orthopedics, sued him in April for more than $317,000 in unpaid settlement installments tied to the 2023 sale of his practice, Becker’s previously reported. That case followed a settlement resolving an August 2024 lawsuit Dr. Paletta had filed against OCPM and Motion Orthopedics, alleging the companies tried to nullify his employment agreement. The parties mutually ended his employment in November 2024, and his suit was dismissed in December 2024 after a confidential settlement.
In a statement shared with Becker’s, Mercy said it met the terms of the agreement with Dr. Paletta and provided a “timely notification” of by providing a timely notification of contract termination.
“Mercy concludes we do not owe Dr. Paletta any money,” the statement continued. “We look forward to working through the legal process to resolve this claim.”
Becker’s has reached out to Dr. Paletta for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
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