NEW MARTINSVILLE – Two registered nurses are suing ERX LLC over allegations they were forced to work in a hostile work environment due to a male doctor who was harassing them.
The ERX Group, Wetzel County Hospital, Wetzel County Hospital Association and Dr. Mark Samaan were also named as defendants in the suit.
Kayla McEldowney and Devann E. Doty were employed by Wetzel County Hospital and were discussing a beach vacation in May 2018 when Samaan overheard them and inquired about their vacation, even asking if he could go to the beach with them, according to a complaint filed in Wetzel Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs claim they felt uncomfortable and Doty asked if she had understood correctly that Samaan had a baby on the way with his girlfriend, after which the conversation ended.
Over the next few days, Samaan allegedly repeatedly entered Doty's office and began making inappropriate advances – both verbally and physically – toward her, despite her requests for him to stop making unwanted advances toward her, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs claim the hospital's ER personnel would regularly call Doty’s office in order to find Samaan due to his frequency of visiting her and finally, Lynn Abraham, another nurse for the hospital, confronted Samaan and told him to stop, but he responded that her opinion was meaningless.
Doty went to Shannon Smith and reported Samaan's misconduct and informed Smith that Samaan had also made unwanted advances toward McEldowney and other staff, according to the suit.
Smith dismissed Doty's concerns, telling her the misunderstandings were due to "cultural differences" and suggested Doty carry pepper spray for her own safety, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs claim Doty then met with Samaan's on-site supervisor through ERX and reported his conduct and the supervisor said he would talk with Samaan.
McEldowney claims she informed Smith in May 2018 that Samaan had attempted to pressure her to cheat on her husband by sleeping with him and the following month she sent a letter describing Samaan's misconduct to hospital officials.
The plaintiffs continued to report Samaan's behavior and after several months and several incidents, he was transferred to another hospital, where he eventually alleged sexually assaulted a patient, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs claim they were forced to work in a hostile work environment.
McEldowney and Doty are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The plaintiffs are represented by Walt Auvil of The Employment Law Center.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jeffrey Cramer.
Wetzel Circuit Court case number 20-C-5