04-09-2026
Ohio Jury Surpasses Records with $22.5M Verdict
An Ohio jury awarded a $22.5 million verdict after finding that the employer failed to reasonably accommodate an employee during pregnancy.
Chelsea Walsh worked as a claims specialist for Total Quality Logistics, LLC (TQL). Walsh experienced pregnancy complications, requiring emergency cervical surgery to stop premature labor. After the surgery, her obstetrician categorized the pregnancy as high risk and ordered modified bed rest, limited physical activity, and work from home. She submitted a formal request to TQL to work from home, allowing her to continue earning an income and maintaining health insurance. TQL denied the request, instead, giving her the option of returning to work in person or taking an unpaid leave of absence. Walsh’s doctor provided two separate letters in support of the work-from-home accommodation, including an end date for the accommodation. Again, the employer denied her request. Walsh returned to in-person work. Shortly after her return, Walsh experienced cramping and bleeding, went into pre-term labor, and delivered at 20 weeks. The newborn survived only hours after birth.
Walsh sued under a common-law wrongful death theory. This Ohio negligence-based tort holds an employer directly liable for the death of an employee’s child resulting from the employer’s failure to grant a reasonable accommodation. After considering the facts, the jury found TQL’s refusal to grant a medically necessary work-from-home accommodation was negligence, and it proximately caused the infant’s death. The court denied Walsh’s request for punitive damages. The verdict represents compensatory damages only.
Takeaways: This case was filed before the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act. The PWFA makes it explicitly unlawful to require a pregnant employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided.