$1M verdict overturned for woman booted from medical program

A Pennsylvania court has overturned a $1 million verdict awarded to a woman who was kicked out of a nurse anesthetist program after she did not submit to a drug test.

The Citizen's Voice reports Angela Borrell was dismissed from the program at Geisinger Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre (WILKS'-ba-ree) in 2012 after she refused the test.

Borrell then filed a lawsuit against the medical center, which is jointly operated with Bloomsburg University.

A judge ruled in 2014 the hospital acted "under color of state law" when it dismissed Borrell without due process because of its link to the university.

An appellate court ruled against that judgment last week, saying the program director did not need the university's permission to fire Borrell because she violated hospital policy.