CHARLESTON - A woman formerly employed by The Home Depot has filed a suit against the company, claiming she was wrongfully fired.
Judy Workman filed her lawsuit March 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court. In it, she claims that on April 4, 2005, Workman was injured while working at The Home Depot store at Southridge. She completed an accident report.
The suit says Workman was not advised of her rights to file for workers' compensation nor was she allowed to seek medical attention for her injury.
Following her accident, Workman continued to work. According to the suit, on April 6, 2005, she was told to move bags of salt weighting 50 pounds each. Workman said she had been injured two days earlier and her activities were restricted, but she was directed to continue moving the bags of salt, which worsened her injury.
The suit says Workman left work and sought immediate medical attention. She filed for, and received, workers' comp benefits and received temporary total disability benefits.
On Feb. 1, 2006, she was notified by phone that unless she returned to work by April 19, 2006, her employment would be terminated, the suit says. She was not able to return to work and was therefore fired.
Workman, through her attorney Larry Ford, claims the actions of Home Depot were in violation of the Workers' Compensation Act.
Workman and her husband, Robert Workman, who is also named as a plaintiff in the suit, seek compensatory and punitive damages.
The case has been assigned to Judge Paul Zakaib.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 07-C-547