Whistleblower wins verdict against school in federal court
A federal jury awarded a former nursing student of Appalachian Technical College $450,000 for wrongful expulsion.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.
Sara Castle, 55, was 13 weeks away from graduating from ATC when the school expelled her. Castle complained that she was kicked out for exposing a professor who would dismiss students from class early.
To obtain the degree Castle was studying for, she and her classmates needed 740 hours of training. She argued that the professor’s practices made that 740 hour mark impossible to reach, and as a result, students were not receiving the training they needed to become competent nurses. Upon exposing the professor, Castle alleged that ATC fired the professor and expelled Castle.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before siding with Castle. The college was represented by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office which is now contemplating challenging the verdict.
The ordeal for Castle has been an emotionally charged journey after dealing with the humiliation of being expelled. She has also had to come to terms with the fact that she will never attain her dream of becoming a nurse.
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