EXCLUSIVE

Justin Bieber Swollen Balls Triggers Hospital Lawsuit

Justin Bieber went to the ER back in May fearing a soccer injury had caused one of his testicles to twist, and that triggered a nasty legal claim between the hospital and a fired employee.

Justin made an emergency run to Northwell Health in Long Island New York, and a staffer named Kelly Lombardo found out about it. The hospital claims Lombardo illegally accessed Justin's medical file in one of the computers ... this after hearing rumors Justin had been admitted for an STD.

According to the lawsuit, the hospital fired Lombardo for being "an immoral employee" who violated Bieber's privacy rights.

Lombardo has just filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, claiming she never accessed Justin's file and simply heard from others he was there for treatment of an STD.

Sources connected to Justin tell TMZ, he did NOT go to the hospital for an STD. They say he had been playing soccer and suffered a painful injury. Justin "WebMD'd himself" into a tizzy and believed he had testicular torsion, a serious condition caused when a spermatic cord becomes twisted cutting off the flow of blood to the attached testicle. It almost always requires surgery.

We're told the doctor examined Justin and quickly realized all that was wrong was a swollen testicle. A relieved Justin then left the ER and went about his life.

As for Lombardo, she's filed a claim with the New York Division of Human Rights, claiming she was singled out and fired because she's a woman.

New York employment attorney David H. Rosenberg tells TMZ that "my client never accessed Mr. Bieber's medical file and yet she was fired for doing so."

For Justin there's a happy ending.

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