The West Virginia Supreme Court has overturned a $1 million verdict against Charleston, W.Va.-based Thomas Memorial Hospital in a wrongful termination case brought by a nurse, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Susan Nutter, RN, worked in the hospital's medical psychiatric unit in 2008. In November 2009, hospital officials reportedly placed her on an "improvement plan" due to her inability to "complete tasks in a timely manner," among other reasons. That same month, Ms. Nutter attended a meeting with the hospital's nurse manager, the human resources manager and acting director of the behavioral health department. Officials reportedly said she was being investigated for possibly committing a terminable offense during her tenure at the hospital, according to the West Virginia Record. Officials concluded that she had completed a terminable offense and fired her during the same meeting, according to the article.
According to the West Virginia Record, the CNO of the hospital wrote a letter to the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses regarding the incident. In response, the board issued a subpoena to the hospital for Ms. Nutter's employment file. The board also concluded that no legal action would be taken against her nursing license.
Ms. Nutter filed a lawsuit against the hospital in August 2011, alleging her termination was retalitory, according to the West Virginia Record.
According to the opinion filed by the West Virginia Supreme Court, the jurors at the trial court level did not have enough evidence to rule against the hospital. Chief Justice Menis Ketchum wrote in the opinion that Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman should have thrown out the case before it went to trial.
"We find no evidence to support the jury's conclusion that the hospital wrongfully discharged the nurse in order to jeopardize or undermine a specific public policy. We also find insufficient evidence to say the discharge was intended to inflict emotional distress upon the nurse. Further, we find that the nurse's claim for defamation was barred by a one-year statute of limitation," according to the opinion.