Witnesses Allegedly Bullied In DHHR Case

Public Broadcasting reports on allegations that the state Department of Health and Human Resources has intimidated witnesses not to testify in a discrimination case against DHHR.

(Update: The Charleston Gazette reported last week on the lawsuit and the alleged intimidation.)

The underlying lawsuit alleges people like Shawn Shumbera, a patient at the state-run Bateman Hospital in Huntington, have been wrongly barred from enrolling in a public program that would allow them to live on their own.

"The non-profit group Mountain State Justice says that DHHR officials routinely discriminate against people like Shumbera, who has been diagnosed as both mentally retarded and mentally ill," Public Broadcasting reports.

A lawyer for Shumbera alleges that a pair of Bateman staffers were willing to testify on Shambera's behalf -- until they were called in to a meeting with the hospital's CEO, a DHHR lawyer and other officials.

The witnesses now allegedly say they've changed their minds about Shumbera's case, and that they would not testify.

One of them allegedly said, "you need to remember who signs my paycheck," Public Broadcasting reports.

A DHHR spokeswoman declined comment for the story, "because of the lawsuit and because they don’t want to violate Shumbera’s privacy."

Public Broadcasting also offers the full text of the segment.