Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
August 12, 1996

A West Side hospital is considering whether to appeal a federal jury verdict of more than $700,000 for a worker who alleged he was wrongfully fired, an attorney for the hospital said Monday.

"We haven't made that decision yet," said Linda K. Horras of Hinshaw & Culbertson. "We're still trying to digest the verdict. We're very disappointed, obviously."

Late Thursday afternoon the jury decided that St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center fired Frank Kasper in retaliation for Kasper's filing of a workers' compensation claim, according to one of Kasper's attorneys, Mark R. McKenna of Christopher T. Hurley & Associates. Hurley was co-counsel on the case.

After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated four hours before awarding Kasper $710,789, according to McKenna.

Kasper, who had worked in the hospital's security department for 19 years, was injured in September 1992 and returned to work on "light duty" in December of 1992. He received a poor performance review two days before he was fired in January 1993, McKenna said.

The jury agreed that the hospital fired Kasper in retaliation for his injury claim, but rejected his allegations that the hospital also used age-he was 42 when he was fired-as a factor in the dismissal, McKenna said. Horras, who worked with Tom L. Luetkemeyer in defending the hospital, said Kasper's position was eliminated as a cost-cutting measure and that the performance review and workers' compensation claim had nothing to do with his firing.

Luetkemeyer said the hospital plans to challenge the verdict through a series of post-trial motions.

U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning presided at trial. The case is Kasper v. St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, No. 93 C 6200.