Opinion ID: 2353157
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Uncontroverted and Controverted Facts

Text: It is uncontroverted that Daniel Margiotta was an at-will medical technician in the Hospital's CT scan unit from April 2005 until his termination on December 8, 2007. Although the remaining facts are controverted, they are not material to the judgment as a matter of law and serve only to provide context for this case. The Hospital alleged that it terminated Margiotta because he had a violent outburst on December 6, 2007. In that incident, Margiotta reportedly yelled at co-workers in front of a patient and threw a pillow across the room, knocking a canister off the wall. Margiotta denies that the incident was violent or that he engaged in aggressive behavior. In contrast, Margiotta alleges he was terminated because he continuously reported incidents of safety violations pertaining to patient care to his supervisors. Margiotta claims that three separate incidents led to his termination. First, in June or July 2005, he reported to supervisors that patients were being left unattended in the Hospital's hallways. Second, during the fall of 2005, he complained that the Hospital would use only one orderly to transfer a patient from the stretcher to the CT scanning table, which, in one incident, led to a patient being dropped. Third, sometime between July and September 2005, he reported that a pregnant woman underwent a CT scan, a practice he considered unsafe. Although the dates of these reports predate his termination by almost two years, Margiotta argued that the Hospital retaliated against him for reporting these incidents by terminating him. Accordingly, Margiotta brought a cause of action against the hospital for wrongful termination of an at-will employee under the following regulations: Margiotta points to a federal and a Missouri regulation as being at issue: The patient has the right to receive care in a safe setting. 42 C.F.R. 482.13(c)(2). Each hospital shall develop a mechanism for the identification and abatement of occupant safety hazards in their facilities. Any safety hazard or threat to the general safety of patients, staff or the public shall be corrected. 19 C.S.R. 30-20.108(3). Christian Hospital filed a motion for summary judgment arguing, first, that Margiotta did not prove that the reporting of violations was the exclusive cause of his termination and, second, that the regulations at issue did not constitute clear mandates of public policy. The trial court granted summary judgment on both grounds. This Court has jurisdiction. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10.