Wexford Healthcare Center allegedly terminates nurse due to work-related injury.

David ManesLawsuits & Press Releases

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Employee Files Lawsuit against Wexford Healthcare Center for Disability Discrimination  

Vinetta, a Licensed Practical Nurse, started working for Wexford Healthcare Center in 1990. She served and cared for patients in a variety of ways, assisting with eating, lifting, performing injections, and caring for hygiene. Throughout her long and dedicated career, Vinetta was never written-up or disciplined. But, after she was injured at work, Vinetta was terminated.

sad female nurseIn the spring of 2015, Vinetta noticed a patient who was falling and rushed to help the patient. As she caught the patient mid-fall, a severe pain sliced through Vinetta’s shoulder. She wrote up an incident report and visited MedExpress. As a result of her injury and visit to MedExpress, Vinetta was placed on modified work duty, which limited pushing, pulling, and lifting. Three weeks later, the HR department at Wexford Healthcare Center scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic doctor for Vinetta. At this appointment, the doctor diagnosed Vinetta with a rotator cuff tear and added to her work restrictions, “no repetitive motion and only occasional fine manipulations.”

Hoping to regain full mobility again, Vinetta underwent surgery that summer. She requested and received approval for FMLA leave to recover from her surgery. When Vinetta returned to work, the center allowed Vinetta to work a desk job while she healed from surgery. But a little over a month later, Vinetta was allegedly informed that she was no longer allowed to work the desk job. Supposedly, Wexford said she could work again when she was able to return to her previous job in full capacity. The center placed Vinetta on unpaid “personal leave.”

Three months later, Vinetta received a letter of termination due to an inability to return to her previous duties in full capacity. Horrified by the lack of ongoing reasonable accommodation for a work-related injury, Vinetta sought her legal options. KM&A champions employees like Vinetta, who by law should receive reasonable accommodation from their employers.

Full text of this complaint, as filed with the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is available at docket no: 2:17-cv-00954-CRE

Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is an employment law firm with principal offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, serving all counties in Pennsylvania, focusing on employment law, business law, litigation, and civil issues. KM&A clients include employees, small businesses, parties in litigation, and people with a variety of legal issues.

For more information about this case, contact Attorney Sean Ruppert at 412-626-5550 or at sr@lawkm.com.

NOTICE: All information contained in this statement comes from the Complaint which has been filed as a public record with the court. As dedicated civil rights attorneys, we strongly believe in the public value of telling our clients’ stories: violators can be held accountable, and other silent victims can feel empowered to stand up for their legal rights. Although we make every attempt to verify our clients’ claims, note that the defendant is expected to oppose our client’s position, and the court has not ruled one way or the other as of the date of this statement.