Former Chief Medical Examiner Sues to Get Job Back

Former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant has filed a whistler-blower lawsuit against the State Medical Examiner&#39;s Office and the board that oversees it. <br /><br /><a href="http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/griffin/NEWSon6/PDF/1002/CJ-2010-1242%202-16-10%20Petition.pdf" target="_blank">Read Dr. Trant&#39;s lawsuit against the State Medical Examiner&#39;s Office</a>

Tuesday, February 16th 2010, 4:31 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma's former Chief Medical Examiner has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the State Medical Examiner's Office and the board that oversees it.

Attorney Scott Adams filed the wrongful termination lawsuit Tuesday afternoon.

In the petition, Dr. Collie Trant is seeking to be reinstated as the Chief Medical Examiner.

Read Dr. Trant's lawsuit against the State Medical Examiner's Office.

The Board of Medicolegal Investigations fired Dr. Trant earlier this month, but refused to publicly say why.

Adams said his client was fired after he expressed concerns about e-mails from an outside investigator hired by the ME's office to investigate claims of sexual harassment. Adams also said the e-mails could exonerate another one of his clients, former M.E.'s Chief Investigator Kevin Rowland. Adams said that's why Dr. Trant was targeted.

"How is he not a whistle blower? He didn't even know who Kevin Rowland was," Adams said.

Dr. Trant claimed the woman hired to investigate Rowland encouraged employees at the ME's office to lie to the grand jury looking into Rowland's case. In the lawsuit, he accused the Attorney General's Office of turning a blind eye to his concerns. Trant also claimed that a representative of the Attorney General's office told the M.E.'s office it "should not put anything in writing about this potential misconduct." The lawsuit also accused the Board of Medicolegal Investigations of violating Dr. Trant's right to free speech and the Open Meetings Act.

Dr. Trant said he wants his job back despite all the allegations he's made in his lawsuit.

A hearing will be held in the next 20 days that will determine if Trant can return to his job until the lawsuit is settled.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office declined to comment on the allegations.

Governor Brad Henry recently called for a top-to-bottom review of the ME's office by State Health Commissioner Terry Cline.

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