A University of Toledo counselor accused of improperly disclosing a student’s personal health information has been fired.
University officials on Dec. 18, 2018, notified Mychail Scheramic that his employment would be terminated at close of business March 18. He was hired in 2017 as the university’s counseling center director and was paid an annual salary of $90,000.
A university spokesman on Friday would not discuss the circumstances surrounding Mr. Scheramic’s firing. A document in his personnel file classifies his separation from UT as an “involuntary termination” but does not provide further details about what prompted the firing.
Dallon Higgs, a student in UT’s physician assistant program, last month sued the university, Mr. Scheramic, and his wife, physician assistant program chairman Dr. Linda Speer, who remains employed at UT. A Blade reporter requested Mr. Scheramic’s personnel records from UT when the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court says the two employees disclosed to other UT officials Mr. Higgs’ diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder acquired in combat and incorrectly portrayed him as a safety threat to others.
“Specifically, Defendants engaged in a pattern [of] intentional, reckless, and or/negligent conduct whereby they made false statements regarding Plaintiff’s mental health and falsely presented Plaintiff as a threat to others,” the lawsuit states.
Mr. Scheramic did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
Mr. Higgs, identified in court records as a former Army paratrooper, enrolled in the university’s physician assistant program in 2017, shortly before the program lost its accreditation.
The accrediting agency Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant first placed UT’s program on probation in June, 2017. The agency withdrew its accreditation in October, 2017, citing insufficient faculty, lack of administrative oversight, and insufficient curriculum.
The university regained its accreditation in January, 2018, with a probationary status, and the full accreditation was restored on Thursday.
The lawsuit, which seeks $275,000 in damages, states Mr. Higgs received an evaluation from Mr. Scheramic in February, 2018, to receive additional services, including those related to his PTSD.
In a meeting led by Dr. Speer the following month, PA students and program leaders discussed the accreditation loss. Mr. Higgs, according to the lawsuit, directed pointed questions at Dr. Speer about the direction of its program and resources for students.
After that encounter, the suit alleges, Mr. Scheramic disclosed information from Mr. Higgs’ session to his wife, and they and the university conspired to remove Mr. Higgs from the program and portrayed him as a safety threat.
Mr. Higgs complained to university officials, who conducted an internal investigation. According to the lawsuit and a UT document provided to The Blade by Mr. Higgs’ attorney Zachary Murry, the university concluded that Mr. Higgs’ federal education privacy rights were violated.
UT officials declined to provide The Blade a copy of Mr. Higgs’ complaint, citing the same federal education privacy laws Mr. Scheramic is accused of violating.
First Published April 12, 2019, 4:38 p.m.
