Charyl Edwards v. Post Acute Medical Specialty Hospital Of Tulsa, LLC d/b/a Post Acute Medical Rehab Hospital of Tulsa; a/k/a PAM Medical
What's This Case About?
Let’s get one thing straight: in the world of workplace drama, few things are more unhinged than a hospital—a place literally built to heal people—turning around and trying to break an injured nurse just for following doctor’s orders. That’s exactly what Charyl Edwards says happened to her at Post Acute Medical Rehab Hospital of Tulsa, where she claims her employer didn’t just ignore her work restrictions after a back injury—they weaponized her schedule like it was a game of workplace Jenga, stacking shift upon shift of absurdity until her job finally collapsed under the weight of it all.
Charyl Edwards wasn’t some fly-by-night temp. She was a physical therapist assistant with nearly four years under her scrubs at PAM Rehab, the kind of employee hospitals love to brag about—reliable, skilled, and, crucially, someone who actually showed up. She’s also a single mom, which means her paycheck wasn’t just about pride—it was about groceries, school supplies, and making sure her daughter didn’t wake up to an empty house. Then, on February 13, 2024, during a routine shift, Edwards strained her lower back. Not catastrophic, not life-threatening, but enough to put her on medical restrictions: no lifting over 20 pounds, no long stretches of sitting, no bending, and a hard cap at eight hours of work per day. Standard stuff. The kind of thing workers’ comp exists for. So she did what any responsible employee would do—she reported it, got medical care, and handed over the paperwork like a golden ticket to job protection.
But instead of treating this like a routine workers’ comp case, PAM allegedly treated it like a personal vendetta. At first, they said they’d accommodate her—swore up and down she’d have help if a patient needed lifting, that her duties would be adjusted, that she could still do therapy work under supervision. There’s even a signed “Modified Duty Work Agreement” (Exhibit B, for the legal nerds in the back) spelling out exactly how this would work: Edwards would handle supervision and clerical tasks, a rehab tech would assist when lifting was needed, and she’d be scheduled for 31 hours a week. It sounded almost… reasonable.
Then the sabotage began.
PAM didn’t just fail to follow the agreement—they allegedly flipped it on its head. They scheduled Edwards for 12-hour shifts—12—as a receptionist, starting at 8 a.m. on Mondays. Let that sink in: a physical therapist assistant, recovering from a lumbar strain, told not to sit for long periods, now expected to clock in for a double shift at a front desk, doing a job she wasn’t trained for, on a day she’d never worked before. Oh, and by the way, this violated two of her restrictions: the 8-hour limit and the prolonged sitting rule. But sure, let’s call it “accommodation.” The real kicker? PAM cut another employee’s hours to make room for this bizarre scheduling stunt. So not only was Edwards being punished, but someone else got hit in the wallet too—just to make the retaliation look more plausible.
And then came the write-ups. Minor stuff. Like being three minutes late. For a shift they forced her to take, mind you—one that started earlier than any shift she’d ever worked. In four years, no one had been disciplined for a few minutes’ tardiness. But suddenly, with Edwards on workers’ comp? Paper trail time. Every little thing became a documented offense, like HR was collecting receipts for a future lawsuit. Meanwhile, PAM started “correcting” her time records—erasing hours she actually worked, delaying her pay for almost a month, which, surprise, violates Oklahoma’s Payday Act. They eventually had to reverse the changes, but the damage was done: stress, financial strain, and a growing sense that she was being slowly pushed out.
Then came May 20, 2024—the light at the end of the tunnel. Edwards was cleared by her doctor. Restrictions lifted. She was ready to return to full duty. And PAM’s response? They slashed her hours. From 30–35 per week down to 10–15. When she asked why, they said there wasn’t enough work—except, and this is the kind of detail that makes you gasp, they were actively hiring for her exact position at the same time. So either they’re terrible at forecasting staffing needs, or they’re lying. Take your pick.
Edwards reported the discrimination to HR. Classic move—goes on the record, does everything by the book. And PAM’s response? Double down. Managers started rerouting her patients. Literally pulling assignments from her schedule and giving them to others. On May 30, they called in another employee on their day off just so Edwards couldn’t take the shift. By June 3, she had zero hours scheduled. Not one. A full week with nothing. No work. No pay. No explanation. Just radio silence.
This, legally, is called “constructive termination”—when an employer makes your job so unbearable that you’re forced to quit. But here’s the twist: Edwards didn’t even get the dignity of a resignation. She was just… erased. And why? Because she got hurt on the job and followed the rules.
Now she’s suing under Oklahoma’s Worker’s Compensation Retaliation law, which very clearly says: you can’t punish someone for using workers’ comp. It’s not just unethical—it’s illegal. And Edwards isn’t just asking for lost wages (which could be up to $75,000, a lot for someone living paycheck to paycheck). She’s also seeking punitive damages—up to $100,000—because, let’s be real, what PAM allegedly did wasn’t just wrong, it was malicious. They didn’t just mess up—they allegedly orchestrated a months-long campaign of scheduling sabotage, patient poaching, and paper-trail harassment to punish a nurse for having the audacity to protect her own health.
And here’s the real gut punch: Edwards wasn’t just protecting herself. By refusing to lift patients while injured, she was protecting them. A strained back + a heavy patient = a fall waiting to happen. Oklahoma courts have actually said that protecting patient safety is a public policy interest—meaning employees who refuse to work under dangerous conditions should be protected, not punished. So in trying to force her to break her restrictions, PAM wasn’t just violating her rights—they were putting patients at risk. A hospital. Doing that. The irony is thicker than a rehab foam roller.
So what’s the most absurd part? Is it the 12-hour receptionist shift? The write-up for being three minutes late? The fact that they called in someone on their day off just to block her from working? Honestly, it’s the audacity of it all. This wasn’t some accidental oversight. This was a pattern. A modus operandi, as the filing suggests. And if true, it means PAM didn’t just break the law—they built a system to break people who try to use it.
We’re rooting for Charyl Edwards not just because she’s a single mom who played by the rules, but because her case is a warning shot. If hospitals can retaliate against injured staff—especially nurses, who are already stretched thinner than a blood pressure cuff—then we’re all in trouble. So yeah, this is petty in the sense that it’s not a murder mystery. But it’s huge in the sense that it’s about whether working people get to survive a workplace injury without losing their livelihood. And if PAM thought they could bury that truth in a stack of falsified time sheets and retaliatory schedules? Well. They just met a woman with a lawyer, a spine, and a very public petition. And we’re here for it.
Case Overview
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Charyl Edwards
individual
Rep: Howard Berkson and Alexandr Sprenger of Boston Avenue Law PLLC
| # | Cause of Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worker’s Compensation Retaliation | Plaintiff was injured on the job and claims that her employer retaliated against her for seeking medical care and reporting workplace injuries. |