A $25 million lawsuit filed against Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System by its former interim CEO, Charlesetta Woodward-Thompson, has been settled for $600,000, according to a Times Free Press report.
Ms. Woodard-Thompson, who served as interim CEO for a year, was terminated from her position in June 2013. She claimed she was pushed out amidst a conspiracy between members of the hospital's board and University of Tennessee College of Medicine employees to gain control of the hospital's funds.
Ms. Woodward-Thompson subsequently filed a lawsuit against Erlanger, alleging retaliatory discharge and conspiracy. She claimed she had been the target of racial remarks, safety threats and email hacks by Erlanger's attorney at the time. Ms. Woodward-Thompson also claimed she was unfairly passed over for the permanent CEO position after she investigated a number of internal conflicts regarding a prominent cardiologist, according to the report.
Erlanger denied Ms. Woodward-Thompson's allegations and claimed they are "simply not true," according to the report.
Under the settlement agreement, Ms. Woodward-Thompson will receive $120,000 for three months of wages and an additional $480,000 for compensatory and other non-wage items. That amount is comparable to a settlement offer Erlanger made to Ms. Woodward-Thompson more than two years ago, according to the report.
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