A Galveston County woman is suing the University of Texas Medical Branch, alleging retaliation, harassment and a hostile work environment led to her mother's death.
Ravon Rhone, acting as next friend and executor of her mother's estate, filed a lawsuit June 16 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas against suing the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.
According to the complaint, Robin Rhone, now-deceased, worked at UTMB as administrative coordinator in the office of the executive vice president and the dean of the School of Medicine since September 1996. The suit says Rhone received outstanding performance evaluations and promotions, which came to a halt in 2011 after she provided information as part of an internal sexual harassment investigation.
The situation elevated against Rhone, the suit says, even after the plaintiff in the sexual harassment case left UTMB's employ.
The lawsuit states UTMB moved Rhone's desk to a highly visible location--more visible than any other such employee working in the department—subjected her to verbal harassment and the addition of two more full-time jobs. The suit says these conditions led to Robin Rhone's elevated blood pressure, stress and anxiety, and, ultimately, her death May 16, 2014.
Ravon Rhone seeks all available damages, including economic losses, punitive damages, attorney fees and court costs, plus a jury trial. She is represented by
attorneys Nasim Ahmad and Delana Cline of Cline/Ahman in The Woodlands.
Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 3:15-cv-00151.