CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The official oral surgeon of the Charlotte Hornets, the Checkers and several other local teams has been named in a lawsuit filed by two former employees who claim they were fired after complaining about unsanitary procedures in the office.
The two fired surgical assistants, Kelli Barfield and Jennifer Baird, say they believe the problems stem from Dr. Richard Rolle not paying his medical suppliers.
“It is not sanitary. The patient’s health is at risk operating this way,” said Barfield.
The attorney for Dr. Rolle denies the allegations.
The women both worked in the Cornelius office of Dr. Rolle, and the suit contains pictures of what the women say were the conditions they found around the office.
One picture shows red boxes for used needles and red bags used for medical waste left in a closet.
Another picture shows gowns in a sink that the women say were to be washed and used again.
“This isn’t normal. This is…something’s wrong,” said Jennifer Baird, the other woman filing suit.
The women assert that equipment like gowns, gloves, and protection for their faces was reused or not available and they believe the reason was that Rolle stopped paying his suppliers and they stopped deliveries.
The women were hired the same day last year, but were fired less than a week later, they say because they complained about unsafe conditions.
Attorney Ranchor Harris is representing Dr. Rolle and says, “Dr. Rolle denies the allegations.”
Harris added, “The Department of Labor conducted an investigation and took no further action on its own behalf.”
Josh Van Kampen who represents the women said the tragedy of the story is that the two women worked very hard to get what they thought would be good jobs.
“They viewed this as the next step up in their careers and it ended up being a trap door that they, at this point, haven’t been able to get out of,” said Van Kampen.