Igwe v. Decatur Mem’l Hosp. — Feb. 2016 (Summary)

RACE AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Igwe v. Decatur Mem’l Hosp.
No. 4-15-0153 (Ill. App. Ct. Feb. 19, 2016)

The Illinois Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a nurse anesthetist student’s race and gender discrimination claims, but reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the student’s retaliation claims in a suit the student brought against a hospital where the clinical portion of his education program was conducted. The student was dismissed from the program after he brought a metal endotracheal tube into an MRI suite, jeopardizing the safety of a patient. The student filed suit under state law claiming his dismissal was the result of discrimination based on his race and gender. He also alleged that he was retaliated against because he opposed what he perceived to be unlawful discrimination.  The court, in affirming the lower court’s dismissal of the student’s discrimination claim, concluded that the hospital was not a “place of public accommodation” according to Illinois’ anti-discrimination law. Per the court, “while a hospital is specifically listed in the [law] as a place of public accommodation, it is listed in the context of a patient/medical-provider relationship, not as a place where educational services, such as those involved here, are provided to select individuals.” When reversing the trial court’s dismissal of the student’s retaliation claims, the court of appeals held that a retaliation claim could move forward even though the underlying claim for discrimination was dismissed.