Home Health & Hospice Week

A Connecticut nurse case manager who sued her employer under the Family Medical and Leave Act is getting a half million in the case — but that’s half the amount originally awarded.

Back in 2012, Connie Sue Summerlin filed suit, saying Almost Family Inc. did not hire her back after a seven-month FMLA leave caused by injuries on the job — a fall on ice and an aggravation of that injury. Almost Family disputed the accusation, but Summerlin convinced a jury in a four-day trial in April, reports the Connecticut Law Tribune.

The jury awarded her back pay for the period from the end of her leave in February 2011 to the jury’s verdict in April — more than four years. If the $462,000 verdict had stood, Summerlin would have stood to collect nearly $1 million due to FMLA damages and attorney costs, the Tribune notes.

Instead, Almost Family argued the jury did not take into account the additional money Summer lin earned working for two other employers after she recovered from her injury. The judge agreed, and offered Summerlin a $196,000 settlement or a new trial.

Summerlin accepted the smaller settlement, which will total more than $500,000 after damages and attorney fees. But she can’t take it to the bank quite yet. Almost Family’s attorney told the Tribune the company is considering its appeal options.