Winning a lawsuit on a whistleblower protection is certainly a victory, but it is a victory that sometimes comes with a price. For Mike McQueary, that price would have been $1.7 million dollars, the amount of legal fees due to his attorneys for their work in representing him in his whistleblower case against Penn State University. Fortunately, a judge recently granted a separate award of $1.7 million dollars to pay for McQueary’s legal fees over and above the $5 million dollar verdict awarded to him in November. In addition to attorneys’ fees, the judge’s most recent verdict contained an award of legal costs for witness fees, transcripts, and the like, as well as a bowl bonus that McQuery would have earned if the University had not suspended him from coaching when it did.
When the judge wrote the opinion which accompanied the award of legal fees, he stated that it is unreasonable to expect whistleblowers to pay their legal fees after they have put their careers and their paychecks on the line to report suspected wrongdoing. According to the judge, awards of legal fees in whistleblower cases are a necessary component of making whistleblowers financially whole and may have the additional positive effect of encouraging other whistleblowers to come forward.
Attorneys for Penn State did not respond to inquiries following the award of attorney fees. They recently filed an additional document in the case, and they would like to see a new trial ordered, the amount of damages reduced, or the verdict overturned. Mike McQueary had reported an incident of sexual abuse that he witnessed in a team shower facility in 2001. University staff did not report the abuse to police or child welfare authorities, and McQueary went on to testify against former head coach Sandusky after Sandusky was arrested in 2011 and charged with forty-five counts of child sexual abuse. After Sandusky’s arrest, the University placed McQueary on paid leave and banned him from University athletic facilities. In 2012, when McQueary’s coaching contract expired, he was terminated. Since he got terminated from his position with the University, he has been unable to find employment.
The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC applaud brave individuals like Mike McQueary, who risk careers that they love to do what they feel is right. It ‘s hard to take a stand in the face of wrongdoing in your workplace, and the abuse that whistleblowers experience as the result of their actions can be extremely damaging both financially and emotionally. If you have suffered retaliation after exposing wrongdoing in your work environment, a Mississippi Whistleblower Attorney may be able to recover the damages that you have experienced. It is possible that you may even be able to recover your legal fees if you prevail in your whistleblower protection lawsuit. To learn more about filing a whistleblower protection lawsuit in Mississippi, call the Mississippi Whistleblower attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule an initial consultation.