HUNTINGTON – A former registered nurse at Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital says she was wrongfully suspended and a victim of age discrimination.
Kathy Withrow filed her complaint October 10 in Cabell Circuit Court against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the hospital, which is a mental health facility in Huntington.
According to the complaint, Withrow began working for the defendants in October 2022 through Cynet’s contract with them.
On February 19, she says a patient at the hospital presented a safety risk to several other employees on her shift. Withrow was not yet on duty and had recently arrived at the hospital.
Withrow says she didn’t interact with the patient, but she did observe the patient through a window from the nurse’s station. When the doctor involve appeared, Withrow says she raised concerns about the patient.
The next day, the defendants took statements about the incident. Soon after that, Withrow was placed on unpaid suspension and accused her of violating the patient’s rights and not following proper protocol, which resulted in the termination of her contract with Cynet a few weeks later.
Because she is 62, Withrow accuses the defendants of age discrimination in violation of the state Human Rights Act. She also accuses them of breach of contract and tortious interference with a contract.
She seeks compensatory damages for lost wages, front pay, back pay, fringe benefits and other actual damages as well as general and compensatory damages for annoyance, inconvenience, embarrassment, humiliation and emotional distress. She also seeks pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Withrow is being represented by Hoyt Glazer of Glazer Saad Anderson in Huntington. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 23-C-370