Filling in the Gap: Using the Common Law Tort of Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy to Strengthen Protections for Health and Safety Whistleblowers
Catherine Coward had been working as a registered nurse in the adult psychiatric ward of MCG Health in Georgia for eight years. Footnote #1 content: Coward v. MCG Health, Inc., 802 S.E.2d 396, 397–98 (Ga. Ct. App. 2017). One night while she was working, a patient attempted suicide. Footnote #2 content: Id. at 398. In the aftermath of the suicide attempt, management required the employees on staff at the time, including Coward, to give statements so that they could understand what had gone wrong in their procedures. Footnote #3 content: See id. Coward responded candidly to management; she told her supervisor that the suicide attempt was only possible because of severe understaffing. Footnote #4 content: Id. For her honesty in the wake of this near tragedy, MCG fired Coward. Footnote #5 content: Id. Although Georgia has a whistleblower statute, Footnote #6 content: See GA. CODE ANN. § 45-1-4. Coward’s statutory whistleblower claim did not survive summary judgment. Footnote #7 content: Coward, 802 S.E.2d at 401.
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