Whistleblower says she was wrongfully fired

MORGANTOWN - A Taylor County woman says she was fired by West Virginia University Hospitals after reporting the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

Kathryn DeCerbo filed a lawsuit July 11 in Monongalia Circuit Court against WVU Hospitals, saying, "The decision to terminate the plaintiff's employment was substantially motivated by the reports of significant waste that she had made."

DeCerbo says she made multiple reports around Aug. 2005 that the hospital was wasting millions of dollars because of substandard invoicing practices utilized in her department.

She says WVU Hospitals made no effort to rectify the situation, and she was fired.

"The reports of waste made by the plaintiff to the defendant were reasonable and were made in good faith," the complaint says. "Indeed, the plaintiff ultimately established with the assistance of other of the defendant's employees that the problem the plaintiff had identified was genuine and substantial."

She charges that WVU Hospitals filed her for being a whistleblower and for being female. She says she has suffered lost wages, emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment, humiliation and a loss of personal dignity.

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and court costs.

Michael Florio of Clarksburg's Florio Law Offices is representing DeCerbo.

Monongalia Circuit Court case number 06-C-450