WHEELING — A nurse is suing her former employer, alleging she was terminated after being sent home from work early.
Veronica Helms filed a complaint in Ohio Circuit Court against Ohio Valley Medical Center Inc.
The suit states the plaintiff arrived for her shift at the psychiatric ward of Medical Center on Nov. 23, 2018. The ward had a low occupancy that day and a low need for nurses. The supervisor instructed the plaintiff to check the emergency room and see if additional help was needed. The plaintiff claims the ER computer system was hacked that day and the ER was sending patients away from the Medical Center, so the plaintiff was told that there was no additional help needed. The plaintiff was sent home but then later accused of abandoning her shift and terminated her. The plaintiff's placement company was also contacted by Medical Center and told the plaintiff had terminated her shift and was not given any more traveling nursing assignments from there on out.
The defendant is accused of breach of contract, defamation, tortious interference.
The plaintiff is seeking all reasonable sums due, attorney fees and court costs and trial by jury. The plaintiff is represented by Richard Walters of Shaffer & Shaffer PLLC in Charleston.
The case has been assigned to Judge Michael Olejasz.
Ohio Circuit Court case number 19-C-59